How long before Tim Geithner leaves the Administration?

[kentuck]

Sometimes I wonder how he got the job to begin with? But recent speeches and actions by the President indicate that Geithner is no longer the dominant voice in this Administration. His job is complete. He protected his class.

When the economy was falling over the cliff, Barack Obama was looking for "experts" to help him fix the Republican debacle. The strongest voices whispering in his ear advised him to take Tim Geithner. He knew where all the skeletons were buried... because he helped to bury them.

Now, I wonder if his days are numbered? All this populist, bridge-building talk is not something that he is concerned about. CitiGroup has been saved. Goldman Sachs is back in the driver's seat. What more can he do?

[mdmc]

1. the dlc loves him

he will never leave

[Selatius]

2. He could try to institutionalize a mechanism that will prevent others from undoing his damage.

It would serve as a nice, hardy fuck you to any progressive that becomes Secretary of the Treasury for decades to come.

[customerserviceguy]

3. He's going to stick around for one more round of his favorite game show

"Too Big to Fail". The double dip will cause more banks and large industries to come looking for another TARP bailout, and the President will let himself be persuaded by Turbo Tax Timmy. Of course, Congress has no stomach for another round of this crap, and Tim will quit in a huff after not getting his way.

[Fumesucker]

5. With all due respect, I think you're being too optimistic..

Congress will shovel more money at the banks, too many in Congress are owned by those same banks.

[customerserviceguy]

13. I think we will see a coalition

of truly progressive Democratic congresscritters, and tea partiers, and it will prevent another TARP.

[Recursion]

19. A Kucinich-Paul axis?

I've wondered if one of those is in the works for a while now. Count me out, but best of luck...

[customerserviceguy]

21. Well, it wouldn't have any common cause

other than preventing TARP II, but I can see it happening. The original impulse behind the tea party movement was as a protest to the way the establishment Republicons were taking the country with the bailouts.

Yes, they've morphed beyond that, but I simply cannot see another "too big to fail" bailout plan getting past any tea party Rethug who has less than four years in office. I surely hope that there are some progressives who are not owned by the banksters, and no plan can possibly pass with the country clubber Republicons and Blue Dogs that are left.

[Recursion]

22. Right, but remember some people (me at least) think TARP was a good thing

And I worry that the increased polarization and systemic mistrust you're talking about would keep another one from happening if we need one.

[customerserviceguy]

23. Would you do TARP the exact way that it was done before?

Would you let banksters totally off the hook for collapsing the world economy? I agree that something had to be done, but the way this played out, the people who caused the problem made out like bandits, and the little people bore all the costs.

Those mistrustful polarized people you talk about would make sure that TARP II was not a carbon copy of TARP I, that's for sure. And it shouldn't be.

[Recursion]

24. Exactly? No

Would you let banksters totally off the hook for collapsing the world economy?

I don't know what a "bankster" is.

I agree that something had to be done, but the way this played out, the people who caused the problem made out like bandits, and the little people bore all the costs.

The Treasury made a profit, at the expense of large investment banks. So, basically, the opposite of what you said.

[customerserviceguy]

25. I'm sure there are people who would define the term for you

My defintion is someone who gets paid megabucks to run a financial institution completely into the ground. I'm sure others here can flesh out that description for you.

Banksters, however defined, are still getting fat bonuses for not lending money to get the economy off the ground. Those little people you see in the unemployment line, they're the ones who got screwed here.

Trading in fairy-dust "securities" that ruined the world's economy would be a hanging offense in some places in this world. I sometimes regret that it isn't here.

[Firebrand Gary]

4. January 2013 at the earliest.

Another showdown in the Senate will be avoided at all cost.

[aintitfunny]

6. Too long. (eom)

[Hoosier Daddy]

15. +1

[Pab Sungenis]

7. Not soon enough.

[Owlet]

8. The Europeans won't miss him

"The perfect example from the meeting logistics: EU finance ministers shared a bus to the meeting, while Tim Geithner insisted on a private car.

Geithner seems to abhor austerity and sacrifice, preferring any strategy which keeps debt growing to fund the investment banking, security, prisons and war industries on which the American economy now depends for so much of its GDP. (2 percent of Americans are in prison, while 1 percent work for the Department of Defense.)

He encouraged a ten-fold increase in leverage of the EFSF to create a massive new debt overhang. Madness. The cure for a refinancing crisis is not more leverage to be later refinanced."

Full story here

[joeybee12]

9. The 12th of Never...

He owns everything, he's never going.

[n2doc]

10. Not until every dollar has been extracted from the Treasury and given to the banks. n/t

[banned from Kos]

11. absurd - Geithenr has recouped the vast bulk of TARP

he made $30 million in profit just today off Suntrust.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/story/2011-09-23/suntrust-warrants-treasury/50529884/1

yeah - they repaid in full + 30 million.

Geithner whacked the banks hard on their stress tests - ignored by the PL though.

[Recursion]

20. Don't bother. Nobody cares about the facts of TARP

Which is unfortunate, because it was probably the best decision the Bush administration ever made.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. He'll have to fight the MIC for it.

[Recursion]

14. Why does DU hate Geithner?

I've always wondered that.

[lonestarnot]

17. Ugh because he helped perpetrate the the mess.

[Recursion]

18. I never get a less vague answer than that

"He's a bankster" "He made things worse" etc.

What would you have wanted him to do differently?

[customerserviceguy]

26. He's been nothing but trouble ever since he got out of college

For starters, he worked for Henry Kissinger. I'll leave it to your imagination why we despise that.

He had his hand in every major financial scandal of the last ten years, including Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, and AIG. It floors me that Barack Obama wanted to utilize him to bring about "change".

[Recursion]

27. He spent 1 year at Kissinger and 1 year at CFR

The rest of the time he has spent in the public sector. And saying he kept showing up where things went bad sounds like blaming firefighters for fires.

[customerserviceguy]

30. In this case

he looks more like the arsonist to me. But it seems that Barack Obama is staking his presidency on this man, we'll see how that turns out for him...and us.

[banned from Kos]

31. Geithner is a scapegoat for financial know-nothings to complain about

They project TARP onto him, blame him for job losses, GOP intransigence, the Bush tax cuts, and the lack of a public option.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

16. Obama needs to fire his rogue ass.

He needs to learn to follow orders and stop kissing corporate ass.

[Gin]

28. he won't be gone until we bail out the EU.....maybe even the

whole world....then it will be mission accomplished! (IMHO)

[LWolf]

29. It will be at least 4 years too late, whenever it happens. nt

[Jakes Progress]

33. +1000

[Jakes Progress]

32. dupe