Your Thoughts --- Should Summers and Geithner go?

[rhombus]

Me, I say we bring in a fresh economic team. Time for a change.

I think Barack Obama bought too much into the criticism he faced during the campaign that he needed 'experienced' hands. Hillary was steeped in policy details with a comparatively sharper policy team and Obama admired that. And sure enough John Podesta, his point man during the transition, pointed Obama in the direction of Summers and Geithner, ex Clinton pros who were centrist and who were part of Time magazine's cover story - Committee to Save the World.

I also believe Obama felt he had to pick centrist advisers to ward off the 'socialist' attack from the right and McCain. He wanted to appear reasonable. Economists like Krugman, Stiglitz, Reich, Dean Baker, etc would scare off the 'reasonable center'. Big mistake. America judges presidents by results. So Obama put the cart before the horse. We needed a paradigm shift on economic policy. Summers, Geithner, are part of the status quo.


Your thoughts?


Update-
I agree though that canning Summers and Geithner before the election would be a huge mistake. It would be a huge present to Boehner and the party of No. If they have to go, let them go after the election.

[Demeter]

1. Absolutely

And then the Treasury and the Cabinet should be disinfected...

They should never have darkened the doors of power, frankly.

[chimpymustgo]

2. Hell yeah. Should never have been hired.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[jefferson_dem]

10. Wait a minute!

Are you sure. Boehner thinks they SHOULD go. Does that make him a Democrat? You guys have me so confused...

[geek tragedy]

11. No questions, just an observation that you're completely wrong. nt

[jefferson_dem]

18. The illogic is absolutely astounding.

If you don't support the ouster of the President's economic team, you're not a Democrat. :crazy:

[JamesA1102]

47. So anyone who disagrees with you

should be kicked out of the party? How very progressive of you.

[SeattleGirl]

50. Apparently so.

Guess I'd better turn my Democratic Magic Decoder ring in right now.

[peacebird]

4. agree 100%

[LWolf]

5. YES. nt

[bluethruandthru]

6. Yes, as long as he replaces them with people like you suggest.

Krugman, Reich, Baker, etc.

[villager]

7. Go? They never should've come.

n/t

[valerief]

8. They should be flushed. Twice. nt

[tularetom]

9. It's like the owner of a store hiring a shoplifter to be his chief of security

Summers, Geithner, and Rubin must pinch themselves daily to make sure they aren't dreaming. First they drive the economy into the ground and rob the country blind. Then they get put in charge of cleaning up the mess that they created.

It's every criminal's wet dream. And no, I'm not implying that Geithner, Summers and Rubin are criminals. I'm not implying it, I'm coming right out and stating it.

[scheming daemons]

12. I see this thread is full of Boehner fans...

...

[geek tragedy]

14. One has to wonder about the intelligence of people

who eagerly join an election season proclamation by John Boehner.

[IndianaGreen]

19. Liberals have been calling for their scalps long before Boehner said a word about them

Geithner in particular played a role in the economic collapse of 2008.

[geek tragedy]

20. And in true form, many didn't think about what

the consequences of such action would be.

[amandabeech]

31. I have thought every day since they were appointed about

the consequences of dumping Little Timmy and the Misogynist.

And I won't stop thinking about it until Obama replaces them with folks who can depart from current economic dogma when economic dogma isn't working for 90% of the population!

My dislike of Summers goes back to the Clinton Administration, and my dislike of Geithner doesn't go back that far only because I was not aware of the damage he was doing (like in the Asian meltdown in '98).

[geek tragedy]

32. Would Paul Krugman get confirmed by the Senate? nt

[amandabeech]

41. He wasn't considered by Obama,

and yes, I think that if Obama was 100% behind him, he would have been confirmed.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

28. Are these the same 7% of liberals who were against health care reform?

Did you know that's the same percentage of Democrats who think Obama is a Muslim?

[amandabeech]

33. I'd say that the percentage of people around DU who don't think

well of G & S is rather larger than that, and only increased when there were reports posted here claiming that Geithner in particular was against the appointment of Elizabeth Warren.

[rhombus]

21. see my update

I hear you on the timing.

[ozymandius]

36. Oh, hell no!

This is one instance when Boehner and I agree. Geithner and Summers are Rubinites of the first degree. That is not intended as a compliment. Robert Rubin's ruinous policies elevated the banking industry above all else but the Pentagon as parasites without a cure.

Rubin, as his protégés Geithner and Summers (with Bernanke's help), made 30:1 leveraging rules the catalyst for financial disaster. This happened under Geithner's watch as the FRBNY Chief. The Geithner accepted absolute shit assets for collateral to bailout the banks so their executives, by agreement of the TARP terms, could accept enormous performance bonuses again. As a result - the bailout temporarily made the banks wards of the state. Conversely, the banks made serfs of the United States taxpayer.

Today, these utter fools fritter around the edges of regulation and good government policies of making plain the records of these transactions. They should have been shown the door last year.

[geek tragedy]

13. Absolutely not. It would be moronic to fire them now.

Wanna know why?

Whodoya think the Republicans would allow to be confirmed as their replacements?

[IndianaGreen]

15. YES!

And I didn't need Boehner to tell me that!

[jefferson_dem]

16. Meh...

While those economists you mention differ (somewhat) from the Obama team, there's zero chance of them actually taking a position in this administration. They're journalists, academicians, celeb-economists, not administrators or advisors...which is fine by me.

[Davis_X_Machina]

17. I would like them to go...

...and for nothing to change, causing DU to all stand around staring at each other and wondering what to do next.

DU is like a 5s and 6s soccer game. Everyone -- all 20 non-goalies -- chasing the ball, wherever it goes.

[Skittles]

22. they are an absolute fucking FAIL

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

23. They seem to be doing pretty good so far.

They were given what was nearly a second great depression, and made a recovery out of it.

Maybe that's why Boner, and the people who are carrying water for him, want to see them go.

[LAGC]

24. Pretty good job?

Over 10% chronic unemployment and its a pretty good job?

Didn't Obama promise that unemployment would never go above 8% with his economic team and policies in place?

Time for a change.

[geek tragedy]

25. The problem was (1) making that stupid promise and (b) not

getting a big enough stimulus through Congress. Now, if Congress balked at $900 Billion, would they have passed $1.3 Trillion? Doubt it.

[amandabeech]

42. The problem was in Obama believing what these idiots said. n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

26. Unemployment would be at 16% without Obama and his economic team.

You guys are going to be awfully desperate to spin it once the recovery is over.

What will you be complaining about then?

[ozymandius]

39. Consider the U6 numbers and any decent person would quit out of principle.

But I do not count Geithner and Summers among any decent people. Beholden to the banks and to their own egos; they wilt at the thought of bank regulations such as those being offered in Europe. Yet a U6 unemployment rate of nearly 21% is a mere annoyance but nothing of worry to these people.

[ozymandius]

37. 99% of the time - people do not know they've experienced a Depression until after it has passed.

By every metric established by 1936 - we are in a Depression right now. The recovery is all stimulus, without any strong emergence of a natural market for the economic sectors the stimulus was intended to stimulate.

Geithner and Summers deserve no credit for the anemic 1.x% growth we see today. That credit goes to the House and a few in the Senate. Divine retribution is deserved for the Republicans and DLC Democrats who stymied a truly populous series of stimulus bills.

[IndianaGreen]

38. 'Recovery?' What frakking recovery are you talking about?

The rich are doing fine, while the rest of us continue to sink in the muck!

[housewolf]

27. Oh yes! and bring in some economists like Joseph Stigllitz $ Robert Reich

Let these guys with some really different ideas see if they can fix things.

[amandabeech]

43. Why not? What G&S are doing now isn't working.

FDR was flexible. When policies didn't work, he looked for something else.

Obama should take a page from FDR.

[alcibiades_mystery]

29. Summers, yes; Geithner, no

Summers is a neoliberal douchebag who is nothing but wrong, almost all the time. Geithner is a much vilified public servant who actually knows how finance works.

[geek tragedy]

34. Geithner's replacement would also need Senate confirmation.

Advisers not so much.

[Milo_Bloom]

30. Yes, after the election, they need to replaced by competent people.

[bbgrunt]

35. yessssssssss!!

[avaistheone1]

40. Of course they should.

Bye-bye!

[Lint Head]

44. And Rahm.

[Parker CA]

45. Perfect chance for Obama to tell Boner he's got it right on Geithner and Summers but that he's

flat wrong on extending Bush tax cuts.

Spin this back on those fuggers to our benefit on all fronts.

Make Boner own his statement.
Clean house of Geithner and Summers.
Make clear absurdity of extending Bush tax cuts.
Watch Boner try to eat his words and walk back half of his statement.
Fire up the progressive base.
Win. Win. Win. Win. Win.

[depakid]

49. One of those "reach across the aisle moments" that he's so fond of

[Barack2theFuture]

46. Absolutely.

Get them the hell out. Find actual Democrats and rabid demand-side ideologues

[pscot]

48. yes

n/t

[Pisces]

51. Since when does DU jump to Boner's tune?

[golfguru]

52. "Home-Sales Plunge" what is that telling you?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-24/asian-stocks-fall-on-concern-global-recovery-faltering-yen-dollar-gain.html

Fire the entire economic team!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

53. Well, if Boehner says so......................

:eyes:

Certainly, there's NOBODY in the Democratic Party whom would be acceptable to him or the rest of his Republican colleagues, so I definitely wouldn't even pretend to care about Boehner's WH staffing "recommendations".

What are their huge *crimes*, anyway? All I've heard are people badmouthing them (and Rahm) pretty much since Obama became POTUS like they're the worst people on the planet- without laying out a definitive case as to why they should be fired (if not hung and quartered). :shrug:

[TheKentuckian]

54. That is some bipartisanship I can believe in. Get rid of the banker first supplysiders.

[Name removed]

55. Deleted message

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[customerserviceguy]

56. I've never liked either of them

Having Boner say this doesn't mean I automatically change my mind and support them. They both have serious flaws, and the economic performance of the country shows their incompetence.