Posted on 08/03/2011 1:30:54 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
After the resolution of the debt-ceiling impasse, rumors have been flying that the last senior member of Barack Obama’s original economic team will call it quits. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner refused to answer questions about his plans yesterday on ABC’s Good Morning America, which doesn’t exactly sound like a man planning on staying in the job much longer:
Speculation is rife in Washington that Geithner, who has outlasted all of President Obama’s other original economic advisors, will resign now that the nation’s borrowing capacity has been extended to 2013 and a 10-year, $2.1 trillion deficit-reduction agreement enacted.
Geithner’s consideration of a return to New York, where he formerly headed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was first reported by Bloomberg News in late June. As recently as Tuesday, he told ABC’s Good Morning America that “I haven’t made that decision yet.”
Who has the inside track to replace Geithner? USA Today says it might be an ultimate insider:
One name being floated is that of Jon Corzine, the former New Jersey governor and senator and Goldman Sachs CEO, who now heads up MF Global. As a former member of the Senate, Corzine probably would enjoy a swift confirmation process.
Well … maybe. Corzine didn’t exactly build an impressive track record while serving less than a full term in the Senate. Corzine ran for and won the gubernatorial election in New Jersey in the fifth year of that single term, leaving after just one notable accomplishment: co-authoring the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the aftermath of the Enron debacle. Corzine also ran the DSCC for two years, which probably would leave at least a few scores to settle among some Republicans currently serving.
More to the point, though, Corzine’s association with Goldman Sachs will be a political headache for Obama at a moment when his base is already in rebellion over the debt-ceiling deal. That connection would increase Obama’s credibility on Wall Street, but that’s the problem on the Left, too, and not just on the Left. There is plenty of suspicion across the political spectrum over the influence of Goldman Sachs on American economic policy over the last 15-20 years — and their favored treatment from Washington that hardly seems coincidental. Just two weeks ago, Reuters reported on a conflict of interest arising between Geithner, Goldman Sachs, AIG, and bailout money:
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, while head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, granted a waiver that allowed his eventual successor William Dudley to hold on to investments in firms getting emergency help.
Dudley, a former partner at Goldman Sachs who at the time ran the New York Fed’s powerful markets desk, was allowed to maintain his financial stake in insurance giant AIG, whose government bailout helped prop up investment firms like Goldman Sachs.
Expecting an easy ride for Corzine is an expression of irrational optimism. Given how the last Obama-Corzine partnership performed — Obama campaigned for Corzine, who got thumped by Chris Christie almost two years ago — expecting him to get the appointment at all might also tend towards the long shot.
“....Corzine probably would enjoy a swift confirmation process.”
Good grief. These people just rotate chairs paying each other with our money at every change.
Will Geithner have to pay the interest and penalties on his back taxes if his country no longer “needs” him?
Apparently, Jamie Gorelick is not available.
Corzine is another one who should be in prison. He would fit in swimmingly.
Maybe he’s going to jail......at least he should. Or, he’s going to Mexico to cover his tracks.
For those who don’t remember, Jon Corzine was the NJ governor who left the state in a HUGE MESS that current governor Chris Christie in trying to clean up.
Corzine is of course, another Goldman Sachs alumni and is currently the chairman and CEO of MF Global Inc., a financial services firm specializing in futures brokerage.
another criminal. thuper!
fail your way to success.
Demcorat Party!
Corzine heads up Goldman Sachs, leaves and runs for the Senate. Is elected, defeated and runs for Governor of New Jersey. Is elected and defeated and goes back to Goldman. Now he's going to head up Treasury. It never ends.
Democrats are like roaches and hemroids.
My favorite hemroid is Chris Dodd. He practically engineered the World financial crisis and accepted illegal loans from Countrywide, but instead of being in jail for the rest of his life he was given the presidency of the Motion Picture Association of America and is now one the country's top lobbyists..
Corzine member of MF Global.. how fitting!
From one hack to another.
Ain’t it the truth! And in both parties. It always seems to be “Whose turn is it?”
I despise Corzine, so to type the following remarks hurts.
Corzine was the only responsible governor in New Jersey for the last 20 years, Gov Christie is playing the same game plan and public soapboxing that Corzine started. Corzine made an honest and public effort and put his neck on the line to force the Legislature to fund the government employee pension funds, the Legislature refused to act. Christie made a public effort but it wasn’t honest, he fled the battlefield almost immediately once Sweeney and Codey told him to STFU about funding the pensions and Sweeney actually came through with a bill that Christie signed into law the first week of July. I was stunned it actually passed and is now a law, (unless the unions get it overturned in court.)
We’re going all the way back to the 1992 Pension Revaluation Act signed by Florio. Endorsed enthusiastically by ever governor except Corzine since then.
That being said, Corzine is despised by the GS partnership, he is despised by many Republican incumbents for the dirty politics he designed, oversaw and funded as head of the DSCC, and he is personally hated by Chuck Schumer. He has lots of very powerful enemies in high places inside Wall St and the Democrat Party elites in DC.
Corzine is worth at least $150 Million, and has no need to ever return to the public sphere, and from his prior comments, he also has no desire to return to the public sphere except maybe to run as President.
Jon Corzine is a crazy man. We really are going to have a full blown Depression.
This is such a mess.
So, in summary, you are saying that Jon Corzine was fiscally, a much better governor than the man who defeated him — Chris Christie?
Very interesting information. In light of what you said, if Obama is after Wall Street contributions for his re-election campaign, then nominating Corzine would not appear to be a wise move.
Up until June 28th 2011 when Christie signed the new pension law, Corzine was indeed a more fiscally prudent governor. Neither Governor drafted the yearly fiscal budgets. Corzine had the balls to shut down the NJ State government to get the Democrats to agree to the sales tax hike. Christie while talking a big game, has been zealously guarding Republican trough pork just as much as Democrat Senators protected their contributors’ troughs under Corzine.
The state is screwed, Christie isn’t going to get an further than Sweeney allows the leash, and Codey/Sweeney/etc had the same power over Corzine.
The difference is Geithner is more the scavenger variety liberal and Corzine is of the wolf variety.
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