It’s All About The Judgement…and the Taint

Monster readers know what I think about The Fed.  Is it any wonder that I believe that confirming the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Timothy Geithner, to be the Treasury Secretary will be just one more reason to FIRE CONGRESS?

I was watching C-SPAN this morning and listening to Geithner say that “he should have asked more questions” when he was being audited by the IRS.  We are talking about 4 years of unpaid taxes and an IRS audit, and yet, he did not ask every single question that comes to mind; or was it that the questions that occur to you and I just did not occur to him?  It really does not matter at this point, Geithner has proven that he is either completely untrustworthy or he is rather stupid; both qualities that NOBODY in OUR government, (remember “We The People”), should be espousing.  Think about this question as you read the following excerpts.  “Knowing what I know now, and as a Senator of the United States, would I confirm Geithner?”

It is all about the judgement…..

How Citigroup Unraveled Under Geithner’s Watch

As president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Timothy Geithner often preached that gargantuan financial firms like Citigroup should be held to the highest regulatory standards to make sure they couldn’t take on too much risk.

But when it came to supervising Citigroup in recent years, the record shows that the New York Fed eased the reins as the company blew billions on subprime mortgages and other risky deals that ultimately forced the biggest bank rescue in U.S. history.

Now, the 47-year-old Geithner heads to the Senate in coming days as President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for Treasury secretary. He’s won accolades for his expertise and work ethic, but there’s been little attention to his record as a Fed watchdog.

Geithner’s tenure at the New York Fed – which bore the major responsibility for supervising Citigroup – covers a tumultuous span in which the sprawling conglomerate spiraled from the country’s biggest banking company to one of its largest welfare cases.

Now under much closer government supervision – after a $52 billion rescue – Citigroup appears headed for dismantling amid a leadership shuffle that included last week’s announced departure of former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin as senior counselor and director.

Should the New York Fed have seen trouble coming and prevented it? As Citigroup took on risk and its capital deteriorated, what oversight did Geithner exercise? And what contacts, if any, did Geithner have about regulatory matters with Citigroup officials, including Rubin, under whom Geithner worked at Treasury in the 1990s?

and the taint of corruption….

President Obama Fails His First Hard Choice

Barack Obama is failing his first hard choice as president by pushing hard for Tim Geithner to be confirmed as secretary of the treasury despite Geithner’s serial cheating on his taxes and Geithner’s utter failure in his previous job as head of the New York Fed.

Geithner’s low personal profile and Wall Street’s high comfort level with him will probably guarantee he’ll survive Wednesday’s hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. Who wants to dwell on this little guy when we finally have something big to celebrate? Besides, how important is one appointment?  Newsweek thinks it’s pretty important. They just listed Geithner as the 15th most powerful person in the world.

“Tim Geithner, when I nominated him, was rightly lauded by people from both sides of the aisle, from the market, from labor, as somebody who was uniquely qualified.” Obama responded when questioned about Geithner’s taxes. “Is this an embarrassment for him? Yes. He said so himself. But it was an innocent mistake. It has been corrected. He paid the penalties.”

Geithner didn’t make one mistake. He committed multiple transgressions over the course of many years. To call them “an innocent mistake” is as insulting as deducting your kid’s expensive summer camp as a child care expense, which Geithner tried to do. Furthermore, Geithner paid the majority of his missing taxes and penalties only after he was nominated to be secretary of the treasury. His situational ethics are directly at odds with the culture of personal responsibility that Obama has set as his foremost goal.

Is it even possible at this moment in our history to find an honest “money person” who is not locked into The Fed, the NY Banks, and the corrupt government, (see Chris Dodd and Barney Frank), to watch over our economy and get us back on the solid, sound, precious metals backed monetary system that our Founding Fathers enjoined Americans to create and maintain?

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Next Topic: I would like to welcome Halliburton’s subsidiary KBR back to the Monster.  I have decided to shine the light on these creepy and strange visitors when they show up.  I will also let you know what they are looking at if that information is available.  Am I breaking internet etiquette rules?  You tell me….I just think that Americans should know who is watching; the blade cuts both directions….