Created Mon 9th Mar 4:41pm PST by 
fingers_of_fury
fingers_of_fury 
Will Tim Geithner depart as Secretary of the Treasury before midnight on 31 Dec 2009?
Background: Category Editor Notation
This is an opinion article added to give the question depth, it was not the reason for the market and is just there so people can have some information on why some people might want to replace the Secretary of Treasury.
We don't mean to sound impatient, but we've seen enough. The country is in the middle of the worst financial crisis in 75 years, and the second-most-important person in charge clearly isn't the right man for the job.
When both engines on US Air Flight 1549 quit after takeoff, Capt. Sullenberger did not cling stubbornly to his preconceived view of the situation. He did not float endless versions of the same bad plan to air traffic controllers to see what they thought of them. He did not spend months preparing for a moment just like this only to be seized by indecision when it arrived.
Instead, he just took the controls and landed the plane in the Hudson.
Note that this was not a risk-free, popular, or easy decision. When air traffic controllers learned where Sullenberger was headed, they thought everyone in the plane was dead. But if Sullenberger had taken the easier route, and tried for Teterboro, they all would have been dead--along with a bunch of folks on the ground.
Before taking office at the end of January, Tim Geithner had many months to develop a solid plan for what to do. He had the opportunity to see what was working and what wasn't and to consult with dozens of experts, many of whom had no stake in the matter (unlike the Wall Street kingpins who seem to have shaped Geithner's inaccurate view of the situation). He had the opportunity to see and understand that what America needs most right now is clarity and decisiveness.
Then he took office. In the five weeks since, Tim Geithner has:
* Given a speech billed as the solution to the financial crisis in which he promised something vague, someday, that sounded an awful lot like the bad plan that didn't work in the past administration (which really isn't that surprising, given that Geithner was the one who came up with the earlier bad plan).
* Floated multiple versions of the same plan into the press hoping that one would be enthusiastically received by someone other than Wall Street (no dice.)
* Refused to seriously discuss the consensus opinion of most neutral economists and experts: That the banking system is insolvent and that the solution is pre-privatization.
* Given Congressional testimony in which his brusque, defensive manner and weak responses have inspired no confidence and served only to make people wonder again why Obama picked him for the job.
and, most importantly, Tim Geithner has:
* Refused to revisit or defend his almost certainly inaccurate view that this crisis is merely a temporary price decline caused by a lack of liquidity, rather than a collapse of a debt-driven economy. You can't cure the patient if you're treating the wrong problem.
With a few years of seasoning in a normal environment, Tim Geithner might turn out to be a fine Treasury Secretary. But this isn't a normal environment, and we don't have a few years.
The engines of the US economy just quit. We're losing altitude rapidly. And the co-pilot flying the plane clearly doesn't know what to do.
So it's time for the captain to take over again, before Geithner takes him and the rest of us down with him.
This is an opinion article added to give the question depth, it was not the reason for the market and is just there so people can have some information on why some people might want to replace the Secretary of Treasury.
We don't mean to sound impatient, but we've seen enough. The country is in the middle of the worst financial crisis in 75 years, and the second-most-important person in charge clearly isn't the right man for the job.
When both engines on US Air Flight 1549 quit after takeoff, Capt. Sullenberger did not cling stubbornly to his preconceived view of the situation. He did not float endless versions of the same bad plan to air traffic controllers to see what they thought of them. He did not spend months preparing for a moment just like this only to be seized by indecision when it arrived.
Instead, he just took the controls and landed the plane in the Hudson.
Note that this was not a risk-free, popular, or easy decision. When air traffic controllers learned where Sullenberger was headed, they thought everyone in the plane was dead. But if Sullenberger had taken the easier route, and tried for Teterboro, they all would have been dead--along with a bunch of folks on the ground.
Before taking office at the end of January, Tim Geithner had many months to develop a solid plan for what to do. He had the opportunity to see what was working and what wasn't and to consult with dozens of experts, many of whom had no stake in the matter (unlike the Wall Street kingpins who seem to have shaped Geithner's inaccurate view of the situation). He had the opportunity to see and understand that what America needs most right now is clarity and decisiveness.
Then he took office. In the five weeks since, Tim Geithner has:
* Given a speech billed as the solution to the financial crisis in which he promised something vague, someday, that sounded an awful lot like the bad plan that didn't work in the past administration (which really isn't that surprising, given that Geithner was the one who came up with the earlier bad plan).
* Floated multiple versions of the same plan into the press hoping that one would be enthusiastically received by someone other than Wall Street (no dice.)
* Refused to seriously discuss the consensus opinion of most neutral economists and experts: That the banking system is insolvent and that the solution is pre-privatization.
* Given Congressional testimony in which his brusque, defensive manner and weak responses have inspired no confidence and served only to make people wonder again why Obama picked him for the job.
and, most importantly, Tim Geithner has:
* Refused to revisit or defend his almost certainly inaccurate view that this crisis is merely a temporary price decline caused by a lack of liquidity, rather than a collapse of a debt-driven economy. You can't cure the patient if you're treating the wrong problem.
With a few years of seasoning in a normal environment, Tim Geithner might turn out to be a fine Treasury Secretary. But this isn't a normal environment, and we don't have a few years.
The engines of the US economy just quit. We're losing altitude rapidly. And the co-pilot flying the plane clearly doesn't know what to do.
So it's time for the captain to take over again, before Geithner takes him and the rest of us down with him.
Settlement details:As reported by a major mainstream news source.
Forecast history %
| Yes |
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| No |
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Question suspends in 4 weeks
- Activity: H$99,875 |
- Predictions: 181 |
Comments: 19
Suspend date: Thu 24th Dec 9:59pm PST (4 weeks to go)
Initial likelihoods: Yes: 20%
Action history:
Created Mon 9th Mar 4:41pm PST by fingers_of_fury
fingers_of_fury
Changed Description Mon 9th Mar 5:57pm PST by 
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Changed Description Mon 9th Mar 5:58pm PST by destry: show details
destry: show details ... >Category Editor Notation</b><br/> /> <i>This is an opinion article ... replace the Secretary of Treasury.<.</i><br/> <br/> We don't
Suspend date: Thu 24th Dec 9:59pm PST (4 weeks to go) details 
Get widget!Predictions (181)
chett
predicted No (H$100 at 95%)
excavator
predicted Yes (H$5 at 14%)
frogchop
predicted No (H$2,500 at 85%)
coolkraft
predicted Yes (H$100 at 18%)Comments (19)
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Related News 
This news is selected automatically based on the question, its background, options and tags
This news is selected automatically based on the question, its background, options and tags
score: 10
CNN 27 weeks ago
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will travel to China later this month, marking the Obama administration's first overture to the powerhouse nation whose economy is tightly intertwined with efforts to
score: 10
CNN Money 27 weeks ago
seven key metrics tell us about the health of the U.S. economy. More WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) -- Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will travel to China later this month, marking the Obama administration's first overture to the powerhouse nation whose
score: 10
Wall Street Journal Online 28 weeks ago
is rising and the deepest fears about economic turmoil are abating. So things must be looking up for Tim Geithner, right? Not entirely. After tax problems ahead of his confirmation and the initial rough reception for his plan to fix the banking crisis,
score: 10
Time 28 weeks ago
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Nicholas Kamm / AFP / Getty From his earliest days as Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner's biggest challenge has been restoring confidence in America's fragile banks
score: 10
New York Times 28 weeks ago
did not say how many of the 19 banks would need additional capital, according to Bloomberg News. The Treasury secretary said those banks that would require more funds could raise new common equity from existing shareholders or new investors, convert
Related Tags
More questions by
In stark contrast with Obama's popularity with the public, a majority of the 49 economists polled by the Wall Street Journal are dissatisfied with the administration's economic policies.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/11/obama-geithner-receive-failing-grades-latest-survey/
By Scott Ott
Examiner Columnist | 3/13/09 5:21 AM
News fairly unbalanced. We report. You decipher
Just a day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner proposed increasing U.S. contributions to his former employer, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by $100 billion, he offered another plan to increase funding for NASA space probes to search for life, and sources of bail-out cash, on other planets.
"Let's face it," said an unnamed Treasury source, "Earth is too big to fail. We can all boost funding to the IMF, but at some point that's like scooping water out of a bucket to fill the same bucket. The fundamental problem is that Earth is a closed economic system. To rescue the global economy we need help that's literally out of this world."
Under the terms of the so-called Geithner Intergalactic Plan, NASA would launch dozens of unmanned space probes each month to "the four corners of the cosmos", each one bearing a kind of universal ATM device. When a probe lands on a planet, and is discovered by its inhabitants, a pictograph etched on the casing will give instructions on how to swipe a credit card, insert local money for automatic conversion into Euros, or simply click a PayPal button.
"Not only do Geithner and President Barack Obama believe that there must be life on other planets," said the anonymous source, "but if you do the math on how much government spending it will take to rescue the global economy, you quickly realize that the only solution lies in the hope that among the billions and billions of galaxies at least a few thousand inhabited planets have developed monetary systems that don't rely on credit to fund supply to feed demand that depends on credit."
Wall Street responded to the latest Obama administration plan by shorting so-called 'future futures' on fears that the U.S. government would, in the words of one trader, "louse up every other economy in the universe as well."
http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/columns/scottott/Geithner-boosts-NASA-funds-to-probe-cosmos-for-bail-out-cash-41197697.html
Hmmmm...
Hamilton ended up being shot and killed by then Vice-President Aaron Burr.
Where’s ‘don’t mess with Joe’ when he's needed?
So even if the tax dodging, gift giver wished to spare us, he would be kept on?
Sense or Nonsense
Obama says he wouldn't accept a resignation from Geithner - yet.
Obama isn't done with Geithner being the fall guy yet.
Rob,
You are knowledgeable about finance.
You must see the way this is shaping up.
Imagine in about 9 months when the uproar starts to occur.
Geithner is a goner - just a matter of time.
Agree?
I meant actually to point out the dissonance of such a statement from Obama.
I HADN'T however seen it as clearly as you have made it. Certainly a lot easier to blame any soon-to-come problems/messes on the guy who has screwed up so much already. Definitely a good point here chatarra.... He will probably be left around until fingers are pointed at Obama himself, at which point Geithner will be replaced because he was not living up to the people's expectations.
Nonsense.
Rep. John Shadegg (R.-Ariz.) thinks the Treasury secretary's swift about face demands an explanation.
“Beginning with his tax difficulties, and continuing through the puzzling narrative of when and what he knew about the AIG bonuses, Treasury Secretary Geithner has done little to inspire the confidence of the American people," said Shadegg. "Oddly, Secretary Geithner continued his bizarre and puzzling conduct this week, making flatly contradictory statements about the dollar in a span of only 24 hours. This weakens confidence not only in him, but in the currency he is entrusted to protect.
“On Tuesday," said Shadegg, "Secretary Geithner testified before the House Financial Services Committee that he ‘categorically renounces,’ recent proposals from China and others to shift away from the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The next morning in New York, speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations, he was asked about the same proposals and said he is ‘quite open,’ to them.”
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=45705
In response to a question after his speech, Mr Geithner told the student audience that "Chinese assets are very safe", drawing loud laughter from his student audience.
But how did Geithner summarize his adventures in China for American reporters?
"What I sense is a fair amount of confidence, not just in the basic underlying strength and resilience of the U.S. economy, its dynamism, but in our capacity not just to solve this crisis, get growth back on track, but to go back to living within our means," Geithner said.
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/rutabaga_ridgepole/2009/06/chinas-best-and-brightest-laug.php?ref=reccafe
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