If Tim Geithner goes Ben Bernanke should resign as well..

Today Edward Liddy, Chairman and CEO of  AIG, told a Congressional House Panel that the US Federal Reserve has been aware of the retention bonuses for months.

Now, before Tim Geithner became Treasury Secretary he was chairman of the New York Federal Reserve and Ben Bernanke, the current Federal Reserve chairman were both instrumental in crafting AIG’s bailout.

If Liddy is to be believed both men were well aware that these bonuses were to be distributed on Friday March 13th months in advance. 

However, it seems politicians are increasingly pointing the finger at Geithner. 

I know it’s hard to be fair right now but Geithner isn’t the only one to be blamed for the situation we now find ourselves in. Bernanke was there too and so was previous Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson .What was his contribution to these million dollar bonuses? What did all these men know? And why didn’t they do something about this bs then?

And now we find out that there was a provision to cap these bonuses but it was removed from the final stimulus bill!

ARE THESE PEOPLE MAD?

I want answers!

Drag all of them up to Capitol Hill. Not just Liddy and Geithner! Supboena Paulson too!

It’s easy to dislike Tim Geithner. From his tax avoidance problems during his confirmation hearings, to his very first press conference where he was described by one writer as ‘looking like a terrified spaniel’ . Geithner doesn’t seem to be doing anything right. And the more he tries, the worse it gets. He hasn’t inspired confidence in the markets or the American people. And during bad economic times confidence is what most people seek and eagerly look for from their leaders. And he’s failed miserably.

However, if Geithner is forced to submit his resgination Bernanke should submit his as well since they are both equally responsible for this debacle. And one man shouldn’t be left holding the bag for the international mess known as AIG.

Obama is finally selling the stimulus, will it work?

 

 

Barack Obama is doing his ’presidential thing’ today.

He’s out there selling himself, his party and his recovery and reinvestment plan.  Remember it’s no longer the economic stimulus package. They’ve dropped that loser name for a more uplifting one-recovery and reinvestment sounds so much better and it kinda makes you feel good about the whole economy thing doesn’t it? ‘ Cause who doesn’t feel good a rescuing things?  Go ahead roll your eyes and laugh out loud..

Anyway, Obama is obviously the top salesman of our time and with public support for the bill at 37%Obama has  cleared his throat, fine tuned his sales pitch and embarked on a national tour via Elkhart, Indiana and a prime time news conference.

Will this work?  Can our celebrity president persuade a skeptical and depressed public to endorse and support a plan that offers little or no guarantees?  

If the numbers edge up slightly I will be surprised.  Because, right now, it doesn’t appear as if anything can get the economy and markets moving again. And the events of the past six months have forced many of us to become even more pessimistic and fearful and this will probably continue until the average person can see tangible improvements in his/her daily life. People need to have more money in their pockets and they also need to see others spending money, at the mall, at the dealerships, at their local high end grocery store etc, etc in order to boost their confidence.

However, that leads us to this inevitable conundrum how do we improve the economy if attitudes about the economy remain uncertain and despondent?  The market is a creature of the people and vice versa so if people are depressed and scared they don’t spend and we need to spend in order for businesses to invest in jobs, products and services.

President Obama is trying to convince us that government spending is our only option, i’m already convinced, but for a country built on choices and alternatives that is going to be a very bitter pill to swallow.

Obama’s cabinet nominee + taxes = Big Problems

First it was Tim Geithner, US Treasury Secretary. Now it’s Tom Daschle Health and Human Services nominee.Thank goodness they aren’t that many posts left.

Are Obama nominees trying to take Walter Anderson’s  title away from him?  I know, I know, I’m exaggerating just a bit here but come on people what the hell is going on?

I know we all make mistakes and many of us will probably make some type of tax error in our lives so I can understand and expect a few errors here and there. I’m sure the toughest Obama critic could overlook a sizeable, if it were indeed honest, mistake. But tax errors of this magnitude and this protracted scream FRAUD.

I mean how do you not pay $128,000 in taxes over three years? I’m sorry but this misake is neither innocent or honest. And it cannot be explained away by differences in tax codes etc, etc.  Instead, it appears, that this was an attempt to game the system. The same system that we, the public, have been asked to repair with our tax dollars. The same systerm that is now broke and teetering on the edge of collapse because guys like Geithner and his pals on Wall Street manipulated and abused it to their advantage.

I have little patience or tolerance for these individuals. And their nomination to these high profile posts is really a slap in the face to individuals who follow the rules, pay their taxes and expect those that lead to do the same.

Unlike Stuart Whatley over at Huffington Post  I do believe that Obama should not be nominating individuals that have violated the law or the rules and guidelines he has established for himself and his closest advisers.  It is not as Whatley argues ‘hypocrisy as the means to a practical end’ it’s just plain hypocrisy regardless of the outcome or the party in power its stench doesn’t change. 

Daschle will probably be confirmed but if I were on Obama’s vetting committee I’d make damn sure that the next   nominee to go up to Capitol Hill is as transparent as glass and that he/she is able to recite the tax code by heart since the next nominee with tax problems may not be as lucky.