Topic: I want to be the first to repeat what I was first to say about Timothy Geithner

[Babblelot]

Obama's pick of Timothy Geithner for Treasury Secretary is indefensible, and yet Obama defends it

Strike 1. Obama says that Geithner's not paying Medicare and SS taxes while employed at the IMF is a "common mistake." We all make them, no big whoop...
*In 2006, an IMF report revealed that a high percentage (I don't want to go back and look it up) of Americans employed by the IMF fail to pay these taxes every year.
*Since the IMF is an international employer, these taxes are not witheld from payroll. However, employees are given a booklet, which states on page 4, that they are to report these earnings the same way an independent contractor reports earnings.
*Geithner failed to pay $34,000 in taxes from 2001-2003.

Strike 2. Geithner is a loophole seeking hound. He took a Child-Dependent Tax Credit for his kid's summer camp.

Strike 3. He didn't pay the 10% penalty for withdrawing money early from a federal retirement account

Comment 1. Obama, like McCain, supported TARP, whereas I was fiecely opposed. FWIW, a CNN poll this week shows that 60% of Americans believe TARP was a TERD. Geithner was one of the chief achetechs of the bailouts. This week, it was reported that foreclosures in December were high than any time during the year.

Comment 2. My hunch is that ILLINOIS (not US) state senator Obama would have gotten on his soapbox, like he did in 2003 when he made his now famous speech against going to war in Iraq, and spoken out against TARP. Funny, but Hillary and others were right: it's easy to make tough decisions from Springfield.

[swish]

I didn't know about this. Thanks for the reporting.
We'll see about Obama the man soon enough through his actions.

[Dallas]

Babbs already trying to find something against the man.  He JUST took over as President.  Give him a break and a chance!

Gee...

[Babblelot]

Babbs already trying to find something against the man.  He JUST took over as President.  Give him a break and a chance!

Gee...

Whaaaa??? Are you kidding me? 

You didn't even read the post! How do I know? Your comment makes no sense...  What.    So.    Ever.
  
Good lord, if you did read the post (I know that you did not) and don't see the conflict yourself, you obviously don't know anything about Obama's message. That's ridiculous. Shame on you, Dallas.

OBTW, it's healthy to question the decisions of those in power--that's what Americans do; that's your and my responsibilty. Just because Brittney Spears doesn't question her president isn't an excuse for you or me. AND you obviously haven't read any of my views in other discussions, which helps explain your silly knee jerk reaction. But mostly, it's because you didn't bother to read the original post. In fact, only someone unfamiliar with both my views and Barack's message would call me out, here.

Maybe next time you won't be so quick to bark at me.  

@ you, Dallas

[Babblelot]

Confirmation hearings today. Probably won't be as interesting as it should be because I'm sure many of the d-bags confirming him don't want the IRS auditing their books. Obama's the only one who'd sink him. That didn't happen. He'll get confirmed easily.

Here's some more reading for those with their heads in the sand over this nomination. 

On his personal finances, Geithner must explain how he failed to pay self-employment taxes on his 2001-2004 returns while working at the International Monetary Fund. While the Obama team has said it was an honest mistake, Geithner has acknowledged receiving written instructions from the IMF on how to pay the taxes, according to documents released by the Finance Committee.

Geithner paid some of the taxes after being audited by the IRS and didn’t pay the rest until it was clear he would be nominated for the Treasury post, the panel said. He also made other errors such as claiming dependent-care deductions for sending a child to sleep-away camp; only the cost of day camps is deductible.

As Treasury secretary, Geithner would be in charge of the IRS, a point that hasn’t been lost on the average taxpayer, said Lynn Turner, a former chief accountant at the Securities and Exchange Commission.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20090121/pl_bloomberg/ajw_cqtguwq
 

Documents that the Senate Finance Committee released suggest that Geithner also failed to pay a penalty tax for withdrawing money early from a federal retirement account.

There's a 10 percent penalty for doing that, and it's advertised up front for tax-deferred retirement accounts. This is as basic as it gets in the world of personal finance.

"I don't understand how the 10 percent withdrawal penalty could have fallen through the cracks. That's just a red flag," said Peter Sepp, spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, a group that lobbies for simplifying the U.S. tax code.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/853581.html


Shee-AWW, I, and many others, would have moved our money had we not had to pay the penalty, either.

[monstertruck]

What did you expect?

[Babblelot]

What did you expect?

Different, you know that's what I expected. Why wouldn't I or any other supporter of his excluding Dallas?

And I know I'm answering a rhetorical question...

[monstertruck]

I guess that's not the type of 'Change' you were 'Hope'ing for.

[swish]

Gee babb's, you seem a little alarmed. I like to get a heads up about this kind of political stuff, but it's nothing to raise the hair on the back of my neck. After all, your from the great city of Chicago, you should be pretty used to this brand of politics.

Just lets give Obama some time, we'll be able to see a pattern soon enough.
For the time being I'm holding all of my preconceptions about Obama in check. He deserves some time to sort things out.

[dmastous]

For me the evidence begins from the day he was elected. His cabinet posts, and advisors say alot about what his presidency will be about.
I don't say it's all the information I need, but it's information nonetheless.
The posting of the architect of TARP is not change, it's more of the same. TARP may go down in history as the biggest giveway to the banks ever. Instead of the banks then offering that money to the people (a surrious idea at best anyway), they used it to just make themselves richer. It was supposed to prop up the failing banks, but apparently the banks didn't need propping up. They just wanted some free cash.
This is now the guy who will be secretary of treasury? Clearly the fox is in with the chickens! 

[Babblelot]

swish, as I've said, the "he hasn't even taken office yet" argument makes no sense, here. He appointed a douchebag in Geithner. That's what's germane to this discussion. That's the only thing. In standing by Geithner, Obama went off message before he even took office. For his supporters, that's a real disappointment and a slap in the face. You, monster and Dmast, on the other hand, have the luxury afforded the cynic. Dallas has the luxury only afforded the blissfully 

In essennce, Obama is telling us that this douchebag is indispensible; that the stability of the financial markets is tied to Geithner's confirmation. That's the kind of fear-baiting we heard when the TARP bill was being rushed through Congress. Specifically, it's tantamount to saying, "The recession would have been much worse if we hadn't injected $350B into the financial markets." They don't know. No one knows. They were guessing and their best guess was as good as mine. And in that situation, I'd err on the side of not pouring $350B into a black hole. Those saying it "would have been much worse" were trying to cover their ass(ets) and those of their friends. With it being an election year, they couldn't have found a better time to pull off the heist. Everyone was s**ting their pants--McCain and Obama alike--all too scared-s**tless to take a leadership role on this one. The public outcry against TARP was on the order of 4-1 in some congressional districts, to 10-1, to hundreds to one in others. But our leaders abandoned hope and came down on the side of fear. Ooops! That's off message, too.

-------------------------------------

Now, to Dmast's point, I, and according to CNN, 60% of Americans are in agreement: The $350B was a blank check to the banks and financial institutions that played with derivatives like they were gambling addicts. In the end, the outcome is exactly what those of us who opposed TARP said it would be from the onset: a giveaway to the powerful bankers and others, who took the money and sat on it for insurance against a long recession and/or used it for investment purposes. Not a dime was spent to keep people in their homes: the giveaway didn't save one house from going into forclosure. In fact, forclosures were higher in December than at any time during the year. Obama supported the bailout, Geithner played a key role in orchestrating it. That's not change, that's more of the same.

[dmastous]

I don't know where $350 came from. TARP was $700 billion. Add the bank's CEO's now being able to "justify" their million dollar bonuses, which rumer says came out of an undisclosed part of the bill. To me the whole affair shakes my faith in the American government. And I don't overstate that.

[Babblelot]

I don't know where $350 came from. TARP was $700 billion. Add the bank's CEO's now being able to "justify" their million dollar bonuses, which rumer says came out of an undisclosed part of the bill. To me the whole affair shakes my faith in the American government. And I don't overstate that.

The $700B was split up in two halves. The first have was pissed away in October. For an encore, the second half was disposed of just this week.

[jeffrx]

Any time politicians are involved (yes, even my boy Obama), you have to expect some shady actions.  It's no surprise to me.  Lets just hope he doesn't end up getting BJs in the White House or an approval rating like Bush! 

[Babblelot]

Any time politicians are involved (yes, even my boy Obama), you have to expect some shady actions.  It's no surprise to me.  Lets just hope he doesn't end up getting BJs in the White House or an approval rating like Bush! 

Hey, BJ's are O.K. in my book!   

[monstertruck]

I certainly don't consider it a 'luxury' to be a cynic.   Hardly any different than folks being critical of W. whilst he was in office.

The only sucking that you're going to get with this Prez is on your wallet Babs!

How unfortunate that Jeffrx has such a cynical view of all politicians.

More tough decisions ahead.  Geithner and Obama's defense of his choice are just the first snowflakes in a coming storm.

[Babblelot]

I certainly don't consider it a 'luxury' to be a cynic.   Hardly any different than folks being critical of W. whilst he was in office.

The only sucking that you're going to get with this Prez is on your wallet Babs!

How unfortunate that Jeffrx has such a cynical view of all politicians.

More tough decisions ahead.  Geithner and Obama's defense of his choice are just the first snowflakes in a coming storm.

That right there is the whole thing in a nut... 

[monstertruck]

I certainly don't consider it a 'luxury' to be a cynic.   Hardly any different than folks being critical of W. whilst he was in office.

The only sucking that you're going to get with this Prez is on your wallet Babs!

How unfortunate that Jeffrx has such a cynical view of all politicians.

More tough decisions ahead.  Geithner and Obama's defense of his choice are just the first snowflakes in a coming storm.

That right there is the whole thing in a nut... 

It just doesn't make sense.  Does Obama really believe doing those things is ok?

[monstertruck]

Oh, and let's not forget about Gov. Richardson...

On January 4, 2009, Richardson withdrew his name as Commerce Secretary nominee because of the federal grand jury investigation into pay-to-play dealings

[Babblelot]

Oh, and let's not forget about Gov. Richardson...

On January 4, 2009, Richardson withdrew his name as Commerce Secretary nominee because of the federal grand jury investigation into pay-to-play dealings

That's the main reason I'm disappointed that Obama stands by Geithner. I'm pretty tapped out; I've made myself clear on where I stand.

I don't know what it would take to get Dallas to wander over here again, but I think you'd have more fun picking her mind at this point