Geithner asked to step down by Congressman Kevin Brady
Wow, tempers are flying high in Washington DC as demonstrated by this exchange. Tim 'TurboTax' Geithner almost evokes a bit of sympathy as he is barraged by a relentless attack by Brady.
Before you feel too bad, Geithner's answer amounts to "This is all Bush's fault". Yet Geithner was the president of the NY Fed and the NY Fed being the most powerful of the Fed's member bank is entirely complicit in the monumental monetary expansion undertaken by the Federal Reserve in the last 20 years.
Geithner may try to save face by suggesting that the 700 billion TARP saved us from a financial collapse, except that a financial collapse is precisely what we need. Banks that have given too much credit and too many loans via artificially engineered interest rates set by the Federal Reserve have not only ruined the businesses and lives of those people to whom they lent money to, but also destroyed their balance sheets. Therefore bailing out an institution that has made repeated errors while operating with outrageous leverage is precisely the opposite of what should be done. Yes, it would have been painful, but it is the only possible solution for a country saturated in so much debt!
Finally, Geithner's admission that his role of preserving the strength of the dollar while in reality doing everything he can to destroy it is insulting and grounds for dismissal. I would only be chagrined in realizing that Geithner stepping down only to be replaced by an equally inept stooge while diverting the attention of the public's growing discontent.
I do agree with Geithner on one point. The Federal Reserve WAS established by Congress and coincidentally has the privilege to revoke it, something that needs to be done as soon as we can establish an alternative medium of exchange.
Before you feel too bad, Geithner's answer amounts to "This is all Bush's fault". Yet Geithner was the president of the NY Fed and the NY Fed being the most powerful of the Fed's member bank is entirely complicit in the monumental monetary expansion undertaken by the Federal Reserve in the last 20 years.
Geithner may try to save face by suggesting that the 700 billion TARP saved us from a financial collapse, except that a financial collapse is precisely what we need. Banks that have given too much credit and too many loans via artificially engineered interest rates set by the Federal Reserve have not only ruined the businesses and lives of those people to whom they lent money to, but also destroyed their balance sheets. Therefore bailing out an institution that has made repeated errors while operating with outrageous leverage is precisely the opposite of what should be done. Yes, it would have been painful, but it is the only possible solution for a country saturated in so much debt!
Finally, Geithner's admission that his role of preserving the strength of the dollar while in reality doing everything he can to destroy it is insulting and grounds for dismissal. I would only be chagrined in realizing that Geithner stepping down only to be replaced by an equally inept stooge while diverting the attention of the public's growing discontent.
I do agree with Geithner on one point. The Federal Reserve WAS established by Congress and coincidentally has the privilege to revoke it, something that needs to be done as soon as we can establish an alternative medium of exchange.
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