tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post9008720592523065089..comments2024-02-27T22:20:11.974-08:00Comments on Center of Gravitas: The Trouble with GeithnerGayProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11289510184782252498noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-56090373971632220532009-04-26T15:20:00.000-07:002009-04-26T15:20:00.000-07:00I think Geithner knows exactly what he's doing. I...I think Geithner knows exactly what he's doing. It's just not in line with what the rest of us would like to see done.Earl Cootiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13204523494279709530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-26865342922848615992009-04-13T15:09:00.000-07:002009-04-13T15:09:00.000-07:00@ Patrick - I think Obama became implicated when h...@ Patrick - I think Obama became implicated when he let discussion of more money to the banks happen and then started posturing with the auto execs.<BR/><BR/>@gp - I too was concerned by the difference in approaches. <BR/><BR/>@tornwordo - if the taxpayers own the banks, doesn't that technically mean that we should be able to boot them now? My question goes back to this contract mumbo jumbo b/c if an outside company raids your company and buys up all the stock as the new primary share holders they can hire and fire regardless of pre-acquisition contracts. So why can't we, as tax payers, or the government acting as proxy for us, fire all of 'em and start again?susurronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-77261474468931599742009-04-10T18:55:00.000-07:002009-04-10T18:55:00.000-07:00Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but, uh, where i...Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but, uh, where in this post is the shaving advice? I heard I could get some good shaving insights here...damn.Dr. Nohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18424071536413273557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-66360330962854222182009-04-08T09:31:00.000-07:002009-04-08T09:31:00.000-07:00I think it's worth acknowledging that the conditio...I think it's worth acknowledging that the condition-free grant to the Banking industry came from the Bush administration last fall. I know Obama officials keep pointing that out, so I'm almost timid in bringing it up. I wonder if there's some sort of double-speak behind that statement that everyone else already knows and I somehow missed. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for the details on Geithner's employment history. I haven't been overly impressed with him, it's true, but have felt that the vitriol being spewed about the Obama administrations 'failings' has been a bit premature. I'm not sure an administration that is less than five months old can really be accused of having made any 'epic mistakes' yet, though I agree mistakes have been made. Before reading this stuff about Geithner, I felt most of the noise was a sympton of good old American impatience, along the lines of 'we made a clean sweep in November, Obama should have everything fixed NOW.' I still think that is part of the static out there, but your arguments are more compelling and informative. Thanks.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10556860299477514075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-40961945157868497502009-04-08T04:30:00.000-07:002009-04-08T04:30:00.000-07:00It really is appalling given that all banks have t...It really is appalling given that all banks have to do is create money to lend to people who will pay it back. I would have no problem if they were nationalized, all the execs booted and they just got back to what they are supposed to be doing. If the entire financial system depends on it, how on earth were they SOOOOO unregulated? <BR/><BR/>As for Frank's comment, explain to us again why feudal bartering is such a bad idea.<BR/><BR/>And PHD guy - here's a hint to successful blogging. Read the posts you are going to comment on.tornwordohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16581361982939423598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-31947980482774553002009-04-07T16:38:00.000-07:002009-04-07T16:38:00.000-07:00Hmmmnnn...an angle my heterosexualist mind hadn't ...Hmmmnnn...an angle my heterosexualist mind hadn't even considered! And yet, it has a curious power to explain the otherwise utterly inexplicable.<BR/><BR/>In other words, I'd be less surprised to hear that they are boyfriends than I was that "Tim Terrific" got the job in the first place!historiannhttp://historiann.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-68907249404085862002009-04-07T15:50:00.000-07:002009-04-07T15:50:00.000-07:00What you have neglected, GayProf, is the possibili...What you have neglected, GayProf, is the possibility that Timothy Geithner and Obama are lovers. Otherwise, Geithner's presence in the administration is inexplicable, at least to my sordid little mind.Tenured Radicalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-13370053879103811692009-04-07T12:18:00.000-07:002009-04-07T12:18:00.000-07:00You may want to work on your marketing skills.Good...You may want to work on your marketing skills.<BR/><BR/>Good post (as usual), GP.Natehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12451445271365185006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-88654382054835512462009-04-07T11:17:00.000-07:002009-04-07T11:17:00.000-07:00It's not spam. Although I am trying to promote my ...It's not spam. Although I am trying to promote my blog among the academic types.PhD Tipshttp://phdtips.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-45145680845099347322009-04-07T09:42:00.000-07:002009-04-07T09:42:00.000-07:00GP--I think "PhD Tips" is spam--it left a similar ...GP--I think "PhD Tips" is spam--it left a similar comment on my blog, but if you click on the blog, it looks very spammy.<BR/><BR/>Likes Geithner? Wev. I thought that Obama was all about competence--maybe that was my fantasy projection onto Obama. My bad!historiannhttp://historiann.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-37100512961429021672009-04-07T09:02:00.000-07:002009-04-07T09:02:00.000-07:00Frank and ROG: I take your points. Still, while I...<B>Frank and ROG:</B> I take your points. Still, while I was a bit flip about banks, they have created a great deal of misery in people's lives. Seemingly those involved in running them have cared about becoming obnoxiously rich at the expense of both individuals and the entire economy. Now we are supposed to trust them to fix the problem? <BR/><BR/><B>Antonio:</B> Let's split the difference and give him six months.<BR/><BR/><B>HistoiAnn:</B>I think Obama, for whatever reason, simply likes Geithner as a person. Somebody clearly forgot to tell him that as president he doesn't have the luxury of liking or disliking people.<BR/><BR/><B>PhTips:</B> Fortunately, I didn't write this post for you.GayProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11289510184782252498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-54638993852021893222009-04-07T04:35:00.000-07:002009-04-07T04:35:00.000-07:00Your post is too long! I didn't read it. Sorry, bu...Your post is too long! I didn't read it. Sorry, buddy!PhD Tipshttp://phdtips.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-20328842941946604142009-04-06T17:07:00.000-07:002009-04-06T17:07:00.000-07:00GayProf--from your lips (or fingertips, as it were...GayProf--from your lips (or fingertips, as it were) to Obama's ears. Per Antonio's point that Lincoln waited a year to cashier the aforementioned cabinet members, I think 2-4 weeks now is the equivalent of a news year back in 1862. <BR/><BR/>As for Frank's and ROG's points about the banks--from what I understand, retail banking and investment banking used to be much more clearly separated until the past decade, and that that has a lot to do with the kind of unregulated greed that was fed. One of the things about Geithner that's particularly damning is that he refused to regulate said banks as the Chair of the NY Fed. Now, he's the knuckle-rapper-in-chief? Pretty dubious. <BR/><BR/>I ask again: What do Geither and his Wall Street buddies have on Obama? Why does Obama take orders from them, instead of the other way around?historiannhttp://historiann.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-39458310365934165372009-04-06T10:49:00.000-07:002009-04-06T10:49:00.000-07:00I agree about Geithner. He can't seem to do anythi...I agree about Geithner. He can't seem to do anything right. But Lincoln did give his guys a year (or close to one) before he brought the hammer down, so Obama might be biding his time. In truth, I think any Treasury Secretary would have a rough ride, but Geithner's been one epic fail after another.<BR/><BR/>And wow at that Summers dude. What an ass. Great post all around.Antoniohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13551523252110967405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-90020847689531501952009-04-05T22:52:00.000-07:002009-04-05T22:52:00.000-07:00I agree w Frank that banks do, or did at least cre...I agree w Frank that banks do, or did at least create something, for the reason he stated. But you're right that to hold them somehow inviolate is just crazy, and I'm unconvinced by this economic team.Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16010478.post-82247241763560972742009-04-05T18:39:00.000-07:002009-04-05T18:39:00.000-07:00I don't know why, but I do feel the need to take u...I don't know why, but I do feel the need to take umbrage with the whole notion that banks don't "produce" anything. Admittedly, the production is more abstract than cars, and the bewildering array of sliced and diced, packaged and repackaged and packaged again financial derivatives and investment "vehicles" that are a large source of our current crisis are really insupportable, but the concept of credit and interest and stock exchanges and the other core parts of modern finance really are indispensable. Anything above feudal bartering really can't exist without it, and I, for one, don't feel like being a villain and trading ass for two cow. <BR/><BR/>Speaking of feudalism, the current crisis, not without SOME reason, have brought very old anti-banker sentiment that is, literally, positively medieval, and more than a little an extract of antisemitism. <BR/><BR/>No, what happened isn't that bankers and their ilk stopped being smart people, or even that they're atypically sinister, just that they got over-greedy and abandoned good old-fashioned financial sense. They gave credit cards and mortgages to people any sensible person would know wouldn't be able to pay them, and leveraged their companies at levels beyond any reason, all for bonuses and the next quarterly results. If they got back to basics, I do believe that most of those executives would do just fine, because that's what they were trained to do. What banking needs isn't some totally radical and new model, but very old, traditional ones, with heavy doses of better regulation. The auto industry, on the other hand, DOES need new, radical models; old, traditional ones will and have been killing it, and the current execs have shown absolutely no clue how to do anything but. <BR/><BR/>All of which isn't to say that the financial execs are inviolate, that many of them might very well have acted criminally, or that their jobs should be spared, but I actually don't think chopping the heads off the auto execs before them is really all that shocking or indefensible as the paroxysms of populism going around might make one think.Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03301077496668834657noreply@blogger.com