Comments on: Geithner gets Treasury

By: Justin Fox

Justin Fox — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:15:11 +0000

@dumdedumdum: All I'm saying is that there's likely to be a division of labor with Treasury focusing on financial stuff (there's enough of that to worry about) and the White House economic team charged with putting together the Obama economic plan. That's the way it usually works, but there have been times--such as during the Rubin years, the Mellon years, and I guess the Paulson years--when Treasury dominated all economic policy.

@jayackroyd: Yeah, sometime soon.

By: donthelibertariandemocrat

donthelibertariandemocrat — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:47:28 +0000

My main problem was that he hired M.Alix, which seemed like failing up. However, I'm about to read the speech you posted, and I read a post he did in June in the FT, which impressed me.

By: jayackroyd

jayackroyd — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:54:11 +0000

Justin--
.
Citi commentary?

By: dumdedumdum

dumdedumdum — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:53:12 +0000

Justin, I am sometimes perplexed by comments that a particular cabinet nominee does not have specific types of experience. Each of these departments (and Treasury in particular) have large competent career civil service staffs that know how to do things and are empowered to do most of them. Geithner is probably a quick study and in this instance having someone take over at Treasury who is generally capable and well regarded but also has intimate familiarity with both the generalities and the specifics of the current mess is an ideal choice I think.

By: plukasiak

plukasiak — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:59:05 +0000

while you probably have more than enough material for the paperback version appendices, the rise of the stock markets upon the release of the 'news' that Geithner was going to be at treasury strikes me as one more example of market non-rationality. I mean, did they think that Obama was going to nominate Zippy the Pinhead?

By: pneogy

pneogy — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:33:51 +0000

"In a much-remarked upon speech in May 2007 he recited the usual Greenspan line about derivatives making the world less risky, then contemplated the possibility that while they perhaps reduced the risks of moderate financial shocks, they could make a significant financial crisis much, much worse."

Thank you, Mr. Geithner, for trying to warn us that hedging your bets the Hedge Fund way could lead to disaster.