Government by Geithner
We are told that once again there are logjams at the Treasury Department. The Washington Post reports:
Government officials, inside the Treasury and out, say the unresolved issues are piling up in part because of vacancies in the department’s top ranks. But some of the officials also cite the Treasury’s ad-hoc management, which is dominated by a small band of Geithner’s counselors who coordinate rescue initiatives but lack formal authority to make decisions. Heavy involvement by the White House in Treasury affairs has further muddied the picture of who is responsible for key issues, the officials add.
So we haven’t made much progress on getting former GM CEO Rick Wagoner off the payroll or getting the toxic asset purchase plan off the ground. And we haven’t seen roll out of the program to get credit to small business. Oh, and whatever happened to the financial regulation overhaul?
There is more to learn here than simply not to hire a “genius” who can’t manage his own taxes. Yes, it is apparent that Tim Geithner, who fiddled while the financial crisis burned and had some difficulty in responding to the Asian financial crisis, lacks critical communication skills and was not the best choice for the job. But this is about more than just one hapless Treasury secretary.
Let’s be honest: the entire American economy cannot be effectively micromanaged out of the Treasury building or the White House, let alone by a joint team of officials from both. The nature of a dynamic, nimble economy such as the one Americans have enjoyed is that it is not subject to the whims of politicians and the dictates of a few bureaucrats. A single company like GM, not to mention a sector of the economy or multiple sectors, is not amenable to the ponderous decision-making and political horse-trading which characterizes government decision-making.
GM, for example, now must not only figure out how to reorder its relationship with dealers and the union and make attractive cars and reduce costs. It also must please its handlers in Washington who have an agenda that often interferes with GM’s desire to make a profit (i.e., survive). The Obama team may want GM to build micro-cars in Detroit; the way for GM to survive may to make mini-vans in Mexico.
One can imagine that even a Treasury secretary superstar would be hard-pressed to run car companies, redesign banks, manage executive compensation, “eliminate the cycle of boom and bust,” set up and manage a toxic asset plan, stress test banks, negotiate banks’ exit from TARP, and then devise a whole new set of tax hikes to pay for the Obama agenda. Pundits observe that the president is trying to do too much; in fact the entire government and the Treasury in particular don’t have the “bandwidth” to run the economy as the Obama team envisions.
I am both shocked and horrified at what is happening in the United States of America. Perhaps it is my perception, but Obama has seemed to intervene more in the economy than even the president of Spain, Zapatero. I hope that the new US administration fails miserably in its quest to turn the US into another European country. Part of the reason why the US has, in the past, been so dynamic is precisely because it has NOT pursued Euro style policies.
I warned Spaniards many, many times, about the dangers of an Obama presidency: luckily, there is a small but growing rights movement here in my country.
PS: Don’t get confused by the title of my website: in Spanish, “liberal” actually means what “consservative” means in the USA, whereas “progresista” is generally what “liberal” means to an American audience.
What a mess. Obama would collapse if it wasn’t for the American people and media bailing HIM out with all that imaginary political capital! That’s why he’s still campaigning–printing more political funny money and selling Barry Bonds to stay afloat–and you guessed it, that gives us government on steroids!
Obama is making policy that he expects someone later on to actually make work. Altgeld Gardens redux.
Not to worry, Alfredo. Obama and his posse are now seriously messing with American cars. There is a limit to what we will put up with. The one term wonder will need to find a nice job at Harvard before long. Like Nixon, the Democrats have enough rope to hang themselves, and they will.
More restrictions imposed upon our economy by our government are NOT what is needed, now nor at any time. Had Obama spent more time schooling himself in American values, he would have known this. Instead, he freely admits (rather proudly) that he spent his time in college studying failed social and economic policies put forth by radicals. Is it any wonder that his stimulus package in concert with other misguided policies have failed miserably?
Our current leadership in Washington has displayed a horrifying lack of knowledge about basic economic principles. Their outright ignorance has caused and will continue to cause needless suffering for many Americans.
We could have elected officials that understand the proper role of government within our economy and propose policies that promote the general welfare for all Americans.
Instead, we have the Obama administration.
“The entire American economy cannot be effectively micromanaged out of the Treasury building or the White House.”
Of course it can’t. Remember “centralized planning” in the former Soviet Union and what a disaster that was? Well, it’s deja-vu all over again.
This administration is engineering a major catastrophe.
It’s probably wise to have a personal worst-case-scenario plan at this point.
The surprising thing to me is not the economic and managerial incompetence of the starry-eyed hoper and changer; that was foreseeable. What astonishes me is the complicity of economists of the left and those, like Bernanke, in high government positions.
President Obama & Timothy Geithner will collapse thanks to their arrogance, stupidity, & incompetence; they cannot control all businesses in the United States of America without a significant, powerful backlash, among other things.
Obama is not serious about the economy given 17 cabinet posts remain empty & many underlings within Geithner’s office are also empty.
Both men are fools, idiots, & morons; the irony is they don’t know it…yet.
Progressive is not a word that should be used for people who take bad ideas from the past and try to make them work again. In this case, sociopathic narcissists might be more appropriate, if the plan is really to try to make it work.
That may not be the plan at all. “Fragging America” might be more appropriate. In that case, Barry and Timmy’s Excellent Adventure into Business Management is a roaring success.
“…the Treasury in particular don’t have the “bandwidth” to run the economy as the Obama team envisions.”
There’s a smoky little corner of my understanding that wonders if the way they are “ru(i)nning” the economy isn’t exactly what they envision.
It seems to be fairly plain that they absolutely no thought or goal of having the economy be successful. Their goal appears to be just to “control the economy”. Period. Whether or not it does well is not a significant concern for them. In fact, an endlessly weak economy suits their purposes.
Just going by what’s happening.
With the early whispers of new taxes following the blitzkreg of new social programs one may want to hold firm to this single equation. That is: 80% managerial costs. For every buck which we sink into someone else’s largess we get 20 cents in value of return, and that is only if the program, charity, or social service relates directly to us.
The unsustainable rate at which 0bama is spiraling our Country out-of-control is frightening indeed.
When the wealthy take their money and leave, 0bama will go after the middle class [yeah, the evil middle class will be easy targets].
Sharing some links:
Soak the Rich, Lose the Rich
Barack Obama’s Risky Deficit Spending
Canada and Jefferson’s Natural Progress
How on earth do we steer our Country around? Is there any ‘hope’? I’m afraid, very afraid. I’ve never wanted to be wrong about someone more than I want to be wrong about 0bama, but, I know I’d just be deluding myself in order to avoid reality.
Meryl–that “smokey corner of your understanding” is only smokey due to the flames of truth you have there. This guy is waterboarding the American people with punishing measures and disastrous programs to where we can’t catch our breath, and then does it some more. Like you said, there’s no thought for consequence–his mind’s made up (cauterized) and he will carry out his mission. Chaos is their friend. If things “turn around” smoothly for him, fine—if not, no big deal. He couldn’t care less. That explains the glee as he sends our economic train off the tracks and into the ravine.
The Bible says the devil knows his time is short. Interesting if you apply that to their shrill, intolerant tone, ruthlessness, and use of “urgency”.
By the way, does Geitner look like a deer in the headlites, or a kid scared spitless of his boss, or what? These characters are almost freaky clear to read–we can’t be the only ones seeing all this.
But like Delia said, “How on earth do we steer our Country around? Is there any ‘hope’?” Yes. The American spirit will not be quashed. This hijacker can start fires all over our deck, shoot some of our officers, throw our food, fuel and munitions overboard, and play Captain Kid for a while….but his time will come. He will reveal himself and when the veil falls off and it’s clear for all to see, we passengers on the SSAmerica will recover control and things will turn. The question is when. This is all part of the process. Keep your torches lit.
One wonders whether the child who was deserted by his father will forever long for the missing authority, and once in the white house, desperately tries to make up for it by creating the all-encompassing nanny state?
The Obama administration has shown many signs of amateurism and idealism. A telling sign is the administration’s position that sweeping changes are needed, from the economy, to national security, to foreign policy, to accomplish their goals.
Sweeping changes are typically the resort of idealogues who have little understanding of history. The premise is that “we” need to try policies that have not been tried before, when in reality the same or similar policies have been tried before, but not with the favorable outcomes that the policymakers predicted at the time.
Vacancies at the Treasury are one example of the inability of the administration to successfully delegate executive power. The failure to delegate is a tyrannical quality, and could also be described as “amateur” leadership, if it were not the intent.
Amateurism also comes with code words: there are recent reports characterizing the recent flip-flops of the President as “pragmatic”. Does a “pragmatic” President implement massive changes to the financial system, health care, and tax code with the ultimate and impending goal of improving employment? Are we supposed to keep an “open mind” when considering the distinction between “pragmatic” and “idealistic”?
Jennifer,
I think the whole economy cannot be micro-managed from the treasury department, but I am afraid the whole business community can be cowed into compliance with whatever the white house demands. The government has proven it is already big enough to do that. Eventually, the planning will become more centralized and tyrannical.
After destroying the US auto industry with the UAW empowered to rape the companies and with ridiculous production mandates, the government will have to resort to making foreign manufactured products illegal in order to prop up the UAW. Then we will end up driving UAW manufactured junk that won’t even comply with government’s political CAFE and so-called safety standards.
No, they can’t micromanage it from DC, but they can appoint “regional micromanagers” and “subregional micromanagers” and “district micromanagers” and “sector micromanagers” ad f*cking infi-f*cking-itum.
Hopefully, before it gets to that, they’ll have heart attacks from the stress.
But…But…….But…….. Socialist theory says that is the ONLY way the economy can work. Something is out of plumb here.
D-wah “This guy is waterboarding the American people with punishing measures and disastrous programs to where we can’t catch our breath, and then does it some more.”
You’re right. Things which are dramatic, consequential and sometimes horrible are happening with such rapidity that we really can’t comprehend and respond before the next round comes. By intention, I’m sure.
And those who elected him are, for the most part, completely unaware of what he’s doing.
But I like your closing thought, “He will reveal himself and when the veil falls off and it’s clear for all to see, we passengers on the SSAmerica will recover control and things will turn. The question is when. This is all part of the process. Keep your torches lit.”
We will know what to do when the time comes.
There is a guy selling “Tax Cheat!” stamps in red ink, so anyone can stamp the new Treasury Secretary’s name on the new currency:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWOcv0oa8RA
To order:
http://www.taxcheatstamps.com
Only $15! I already have mine.