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...Geithner, the Secretary of the Treasury, spent some of the early parts of his career being attacked by Congress. Legislators were not happy that he could not come up with details about the Administration's stimulus program and plans to buy bad assets from banks by recruiting shrewd investors from Wall St. and giving them access to taxpayer cash...
...Congress will push the issue of public discussion of sensitive government information, but usually only so far. Geither's brilliance has led him to change the perception of banks from being "too big to fail" into being "too big to be discussed in public." His most impressive statement at yesterday's Oversight Panel cross examination was that the "vast majority" of American banks are well-capitalized. He neglected to mention which financial firms are in trouble. It could be that two of the four largest banks in the US have too much trash on their balance sheets to make...
What the Secretary avoided in his comments regarding why the banks are not increasing lending is that he has information about bank "stress tests" that Congress does not. Geithner knows that some of the financial firms are not robust. But, it is too dangerous for him to name them into an open microphone. It could cause a panic, and drive the stocks of major banks down and cause depositors unnecessary worry. What he would say is that if some of the banks did not pass their tests, the federal government stands ready to help them if private investors...
...Never mind all that Congress and the President have asked of the agencies. Or the fact that morale at the agencies is horrible and plenty of their most-talented workers - i.e., those that can easily get hired elsewhere - are leaving. Freddie Mac doesn't have a permanent chief executive, chief operating officer, or chief financial officer. Many slots for other top positions are likewise vacant - as they are at Fannie Mae. Lockhart recently said of the agencies that "everybody is stretched very thin." That is only one of the problems...
Especially during this season of discontent. We hate the bailouts, revile the bankers, wish Detroit would secede and take Congress with it. City folk dislike farm subsidies, farmers don't have much use for mass transit, and we all hate the taxes that pay for them. So what actually unites us? We call ourselves patriots; we defend dissent. But what happens when I don't like what Washington does? If I say, "My country, right or wrong," can I turn around and say, But when I think you're wrong, I reserve the right not to be part...