Secretary of The Treasury Timothy Geithner Faces Criminal Chargers: Goldman Sachs Got 100 Cents On The Dollar From AIG From Government Bailout Funds–American Taxpayers Paid The Bill!

Posted on January 29, 2010. Filed under: Blogroll, Communications, Economics, Federal Government, Fiscal Policy, government, government spending, Investments, Language, Law, liberty, Life, Links, Monetary Policy, People, Philosophy, Politics, Taxes, Video, Wisdom | Tags: AIG, Bailouts, Criminal Charges, Goldman Sachs, Investment Banking, New political party, Political Corruption, Progressive Radical Socialists, Progressives, socialists, Socializing Losses, third party, Timothy Geithner |

“The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.”

~Thomas Jefferson

Treas. Sec Geithner Faces Poss. Criminal Charges

NY Fed `Very Sensitive’ on AIG, Company E-Mail Says

SEC protecting AIG secrets

Shadow relationship between Goldman Sachs and AIG

Kaptur CHEWS Up Tiny Tim GOLDMAN And Spits Him Out

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Rep. John Mica discuss government assistance of AIG

Ron Paul on Fox Business Geithner and AIG

Jim Rogers about Tim Geithner testiomony

We Call For Tim Geithner’s Resignation

Background Articles and Vidoes

Glenn Beck Show – January 29, 2010 – Pt 1 of 7

Glenn Beck Show – January 29, 2010 – Pt 2 of 7

Glenn Beck Show – January 29, 2010 – Pt 3 of 7

Glenn Beck Show – January 29, 2010 – Pt 4 of 7

Glenn Beck Show – January 29, 2010 – Pt 5 of 7

Glenn Beck Show – January 29, 2010 – Pt 6 of 7

Glenn Beck Show – January 29, 2010 – Pt 7 of 7

AIG and Goldman Sachs were bailouted for the simple reason the executives of these firms gave campaign contributions to candidate Barack Obama.

AIG–Follow The Money Trail–Bailing Out Business Buddies–Corrupt Crony Radical Socialism

Neither AIG nor Goldman Sachs should have received one dollar of bailout money from the American people.

AIG and Goldman Sachs should have negotiated a settlement without any Federal Government intervention into these transactions.

The political class in Washington, both Republicans and Democrats are corrupt.

The progressive radical socialists of both political parties are responsible for the Bush Obama Depression.

Time for a new political party.

Limbaugh, Levin, Hannity and Bennett are wrong.

The Republican Party at the national level is run by progressives for progressives no matter what they say or call themselves.

Glenn Beck is right about both political parties.

Do not waste time or money trying to recapture the Republican Party from progressive Republicans.

Start a new conservative/libertarian party now.

Democrats, Republican, Independents, and Libertarians are looking for a new political home.

Time to build a new political party.

The last time this happened Abraham Lincoln was elected President as a Republican.

Background Articles and Videos

Glenn Beck Socialism to Fascism

The Economic “Stimulus”

by Thomas Sowell

“…In short, it can be years before the money that is supposed to stimulate the economy actually gets into the economy. And nobody knows what the economy will be like when that money finally gets into circulation.

A common problem with government economic policies in general is that it is very hard to predict how long it will be before the policy actually affects the economy. An economic stimulus policy created during a contraction in demand can take effect during an inflationary expansion of demand– and fuel still more inflation.

A trillion dollars or so, created out of thin air by a government that already has a huge deficit, can set off another round of inflation that can take some very painful new policies to bring under control– or can have even more painful effects, if it is not brought under control. The new administration may need that get-out-of-jail-free card.”

http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2009/01/06/the_economic_stimulus?page=2

Regional Banks Reject TARP Funding

“…When Congress approved $700 billion for TARP, it was supposed to buy troubled mortgage securities from banks. The bill’s language was broad, and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson decided in October he would use $250 billion to buy preferred stock in banks to bolster their capital. In late October, Paulson forced the nation’s nine largest banks to accept a total of $125 billion, regardless of their health.[17] This was former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s original vision for the TARP fund, but he switched course and decided to devote $250 billion to direct equity stake investments in banks before waffling again and heading back in the direction of asset purchases.[22] The Treasury has repeatedly said that TARP is not a bailout, and that it expects to eventually make money on the program. A study this month by the Congressional Budget Office found that, of the $247 billion the government had spent through Dec. 31, taxpayers were on the hook for about a quarter, or $64 billion. That amount represents the difference between what the Treasury paid for assets versus their market values. The Office of Management and Budget must submit semiannual reports on the costs of TARP, and the CBO must assess those reports.[1] Buying toxic assets was the original plan for government money until the Treasury shifted gears toward investments. “The first step has to be removing these toxic assets,” Kaufman said. He sees the government buying up bad loans similar to the way the Resolution Trust Corp. bought distressed homes from savings and loans nearly two decades ago. Just as the RTC wound up costing taxpayers less than one-half the original estimates, the public could be on the hook for less than the full $700 billion this time, Kaufman said. Toxic-asset purchases can be tricky when it’s hard to figure out a reasonable, fair price.[11] Parts of the discussion taking place within the government revolve around ways to leverage the remaining money in the TARP. The Fed already plans to use $20 billion from the TARP to set up a $200 billion program to support consumer and small business loans.[18]

…”

“…Until we start recognizing the losses, we’re just engaging in crony capitalism,” said Mason, who is also a banking industry consultant. Executives of banks that get federal support without being force to take adequate writedowns, he adds, are “using Congress as a piggybank.” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson used much of the first half of TARP to buy preferred shares in banks, using the rationale that banks’ capital shortfalls needed to be filled before they could be depended on to extend loans to expand the economy. Under the plan, big banks such as Citi, JPMorgan Chase ( JPM, Fortune 500 ) and Goldman Sachs ( GS, Fortune 500 ) got billions of dollars in federal funds with few strings attached. Paulson said the plan — which he adopted after regulators in the U.K. launched their own plan to buy banks’ preferred shares — resulted in a more stable financial system.[4] The program, which is similar to the ones that U.S. regulators have extended to Citigroup ( C, Fortune 500 ) and Bank of America ( BAC, Fortune 500 ), aims to “reinforce the stability of the financial system, to increase confidence and capacity to lend, and in turn to support the recovery of the economy,” the U.K. Treasury said in a statement. Offering loan guarantees to a broad array of banks is reportedly among the options being considered by incoming President Barack Obama as he seeks to restore economic growth.[4] …”

“…Instead of using the first payment of $350 billion to purchase troubled assets, as the name Troubled Asset Relief Program suggests, the money has been erratically and arbitrarily distributed in a monstrous act of government intervention and ownership over our financial markets.[25] More than 200 banks have gotten $191 billion in relief from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to Keefe Bruyette.[22] Two local banks have garnered millions from the controversial $700 billion Trouble Asset Relief Program, often called the banking bailout bill.[19]

Citigroup tops the list with $25 billion in TARP funding, while some smaller community banks have taken around $1 million. J.W. Davis, Carolina First chairman, said his company discussed the TARP program extensively before exchanging equity for money with the federal government. He said a tight credit market makes it difficult to raise capital, and the TARP program was an efficient and low-cost solution.[19] “I am convinced that our bank and many, many others are lending more than we would have if we hadn’t taken the TARP money, says Ken Wilcox, chief executive of SVB Financial, which operates Silicon Valley Bank in Palo Alto. Wilcox says his bank, which caters to startup and publicly held technology companies, was able to raise several billion in new deposits since it took $235 million in TARP funds in early December.[17] We’ve also in the interbank market we have had on average $40 billion or $50 billion out and into bank market, that is also a form of lending. All of this is helped by the TARP so we think it’s a valid question people to ask what are doing with the TARP money and we do say its hard to separate exactly what is TARP money because remember we’re making loans all the time but we are trying to follow the intent and spirit of TARP which is to help the economy of the United States recover and make sure we’re financing people.[27]

…”

http://newsfeedresearcher.com/data/articles_b5/banks-buyouts-tarp.html

Two local banks get a piece of bailout

“…Critics, however, point to a lack of oversight surrounding the federal program and a shift in direction from the bill’s original intent.

Under the terms of the agreement with the Treasury, South Financial and Mountain First must pay the money back with interest. The banks are charged 5 percent annually for the first five years. After five years, the rate goes up to 9 percent.

“The reason we participated in that was we wanted to provide more services to Western North Carolina,” said Greg Gibson, Mountain First Bank and Trust CEO. “This TARP program offered the best alternative to offer credit to our customers.”

When Congress originally approved the TARP program, Treasurer Secretary Henry Paulson planned to purchase troubled loans from shaky financial institutions. Paulson quickly changed course, and the Treasury has used the money to purchase stock in nearly 300 banks, thrifts and finance companies. Citigroup tops the list with $25 billion in TARP funding, while some smaller community banks have taken around $1 million.

J.W. Davis, Carolina First chairman, said his company discussed the TARP program extensively before exchanging equity for money with the federal government. He said a tight credit market makes it difficult to raise capital, and the TARP program was an efficient and low-cost solution.

“We saw it as an opportunity to pad our capital,” Davis said. “Given the slowdown, we thought padding those ratios was good. We also want to take advantage of things in the marketplace.”

http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20090119/TOPSTORIES/901180996/1042/NEWS?Title=Two_local_banks_get_a_piece_of_bailout

What Just Happened?

“…And where did the ultimately successful plan come from, anyway? Ten days ago it appeared that it was UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s idea (doubtless crafted for him by Bank of England Governor Mervyn King). True enough, Brown boldly and confidently tackled his banking crisis at its root. A cartoon in the Financial Times depicted leaders of other industrial nations following him along in a cheerful dance. There followed the standard paeans to John Maynard Keyes.

But the basic blueprints Brown adopted had been drawn up in Stockholm in late 1992, when central bankers in Sweden, Norway and Finland moved swiftly to rescue their big banks after the collapse of a property bubble. The rescue succeeded, though its aftermath lingered on for four years.

What were the channels through which Swedish influence flowed to London and Washington? This is an especially interesting question because of the experience of the early 1930s, when Gustav Cassel argued without success that overly restrictive American monetary policy was making matters worse, and Gunnar Myrdal devised budgetary policies implemented by the new Social Democratic government in 1933 that spared Sweden the worst of the Great Depression.

In other words, economists of the Stockholm School implemented successful macroeconomic policies several years before John Maynard Keynes published his General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, even if they were unable to make the case for what they were doing to the wider world. The Swedes have taken economics very seriously ever since. Would they sit on their hands at a time when the world was threatened with another serious depression? What overtures would they make instead? …”

http://www.economicprincipals.com/issues/2008.10.26/341.html

1/3) Tom Woods: Meltdown (Lew Rockwell Show 2/11/09)

2/3) Tom Woods: Meltdown (Lew Rockwell Show 2/11/09)

3/3) Tom Woods: Meltdown (Lew Rockwell Show 2/11/09)

Background Articles and Videos

New Bank Bailout Could Cost $2 Trillion

By DEBORAH SOLOMON, DAVID ENRICH and JON HILSENRATH

“Government officials seeking to revamp the U.S. financial bailout have discussed spending another $1 trillion to $2 trillion to help restore banks to health, according to people familiar with the matter.

President Barack Obama’s new administration is wrestling with how to stem the continuing loss of confidence in the financial system, as it divides up the remaining $350 billion from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program launched last fall. The potential size of rescue efforts being discussed suggests the administration may need to ask Congress for more funds. Some of the remaining $350 billion of TARP funds has already been earmarked for other efforts, including aid to auto makers and to homeowners facing foreclosure.

The administration, which could announce its plans within days, hasn’t yet made a determination on the final shape of its new proposal, and the exact details could change. Among the issues officials are wrestling with: How to fix damaged financial institutions without ending up owning them.

The aim is to encourage banks to begin lending again and investors to put private capital back into financial institutions. The administration is expected to take a series of steps, including relieving banks of bad loans and distressed securities. The so-called “bad bank” that would buy these assets could be seeded with $100 billion to $200 billion from the TARP funds, with the rest of the money — as much as $1 trillion to $2 trillion — raised by selling government-backed debt or borrowing from the Federal Reserve. …”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123319689681827391.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

Roubini Predicts U.S. Losses May Reach $3.6 Trillion (Update1)

“…U.S. financial losses from the credit crisis may reach $3.6 trillion, suggesting the banking system is “effectively insolvent,” said New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini, who predicted last year’s economic crisis.

“I’ve found that credit losses could peak at a level of $3.6 trillion for U.S. institutions, half of them by banks and broker dealers,” Roubini said at a conference in Dubai today. “If that’s true, it means the U.S. banking system is effectively insolvent because it starts with a capital of $1.4 trillion. This is a systemic banking crisis.”

Losses and writedowns at financial companies worldwide have risen to more than $1 trillion since the U.S. subprime mortgage market collapsed in 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

President Barack Obama will have to use as much as $1 trillion of public funds to shore up the capitalization of the banking sector, following the $350 billion injection by the Bush administration, Roubini told Bloomberg News. Congress last year approved a $700 billion rescue fund, of which half remains to be disbursed. …”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aS0yBnMR3USk

Participants in Government Investment Plan

“In unveiling its bank-share purchase program, the Treasury Department required nine of the nation’s largest financial-services companies to sell a total of $125 billion in preferred stock to the government, and said an additional $125 billion in stock could be bought from other firms on a voluntary basis. Below, see a list of participating companies. Click the headers of the columns to sort by company, state and amount.
Last updated: 02/04/2009 …”

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/st_BANKMONEY_20081027.html

Good news: TARP II coming soon

posted at 12:35 pm on January 20, 2009 by Allahpundit

“…No, not the stimulus. Another monster bailout on top of the stimulus. If the timeline here is right, Team Barry could be asking for it by mid-February, which would mean the $700 billion in TARP I lasted … five months.

Ever get the feeling like we’re just buying time?

[P]ersons close to the situation in Congress told Politico that the deteriorating economic situation leaves little breathing room. Bank losses are up and auto sales down. A top Hill staffer predicted Obama could be forced to seek more money even before the President’s Day recess in mid-February.

If so, this would be a nightmare political scenario for the incoming administration, which has focused on using the next month to muscle through its economic recovery plan…

But Obama gets one honeymoon as a new president, and waiting is not without risks. Financial newspapers reflect a growing concern that the government must do more to buy up the bad investments that hang over financial markets; with more bad earnings reports due this week, there is sense that this is a crisis that can’t be avoided…

“Congress isn’t going to step up and say, ‘Hey, can we give away another $700 billion?’” said an aide to a second Democratic House member. “But there’s a growing sense among people who are really watching this closely, I think, that it is entirely possible, six months from now, maybe even less, the administration is going to come back and say, ‘We need more; we need … more of the same.’”

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/01/20/good-news-tarp-ii-coming-soon/

Inside Look: A Severe Global Economic Contraction

Recession & Recovery

Jim Rogers Investment banks all gonna go to…

Jim Rogers on the Asian Financial Forum pt 1/2 Jan 21 2009

Jim Rogers on the Asian Financial Forum pt 2/2 Jan 21 2009

Jim Rogers Britain is Bankrupt (21.01.09)

Peter Schiff on CNBC Kudlow – 1:20:09 Part 1

Obama – The New Face of Western Imperialism [1 of 2]

Obama – The New Face of Western Imperialism [2 of 2]

http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/reports/0010508105_a_report.pdf

Timoth Geithner

“Timothy Franz Geithner [pronounced /ˈgaɪtnər/] (born August 18, 1961) is the 75th and current United States Secretary of the Treasury, serving under U.S. President Barack Obama. He was previously the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a tax chiseler.

Geithner will be directing the nation’s economic recovery from the worst financial crisis in three generations, a task that could define the first two years of Obama’s term. Specific duties include directing how $350 billion of already existing Wall Street bailout money is to be spent, then making the case to the United States Congress and the public if more is needed. In addition, Congress is working on an $825-billion economic recovery package that dedicates about two-thirds to new government spending and the rest to tax cuts. Geithner will be playing a big role in disbursing that money.^[2]

Geithner’s nomination came under fire due to his failure to pay over $30,000 in taxes in the past. Geithner was able to receive Senate confirmation but he remains under deep criticism for not following the rules of the agency he now oversees.^[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_F._Geithner

Jim Rogers, Jr.

“James Beeland Rogers, Jr. (born October 19, 1942) is an American investor and financial commentator. He is co-founder, along with George Soros, of the Quantum Fund, and is a college professor, author, world traveler, economic commentator, and creator of the Rogers International Commodities Index (RICI).

Rogers, whose full name is James Beeland Rogers, Jr. was born in Wetumpka, Alabama. Rogers grew up in Demopolis, getting started in business at the age of five, picking up bottles at baseball games. He got his first job on Wall Street, at Dominick & Dominick, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1964. Rogers then acquired a second BA degree from Balliol College, Oxford University in 1966. After Oxford, Rogers returned to the U.S. and enlisted in the army for a few years.

In 1970, Rogers joined Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder, where he met George Soros. That same year, Rogers and Soros founded the Quantum Fund. During the following 10 years the portfolio gained 4200% while the S&P advanced about 47%.^[1] It was one of the first truly international funds.

In 1980, Rogers decided to “retire”, and traveled on motorcycle through China. Since then, he has been a guest professor of finance at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

In 1989 and 1990, Rogers was the moderator of WCBS’ The Dreyfus Roundtable and FNN’s The Profit Motive with Jim Rogers. From 1990 to 1992, he traveled through China again, as well as around the world, on motorcycle, over 100,000 miles (160,000 km) across six continents, which was picked up in the Guinness Book of World Records. He tells of his adventures and worldwide investments in Investment Biker.

In 1998, Rogers founded the Rogers International Commodity Index. In 2007, the index and its 3 sub-indices were linked to exchange-traded notes under the banner ELEMENTS. The notes track the total return of the indices as an accessible way to invest. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Rogers

Pay to Play

“Pay to Play, sometimes pay for play, is a phrase which has been used for a variety of situations in which money is exchanged for services or the privilege to engage (play) in certain activities. Some uses refer to illicit activities, such as the exchange of money for influence in politics, while others can be normal, even expected, practices. An example of the latter is the concept of No Pay No Play in auto insurance law: an uninsured driver is not permitted to recover money for property damage or bodily injury damages caused by an auto accident, even if the uninsured driver is not at fault, because the lack of pay into the system results in the revocation of the uninsured driver’s right to play when compensation is collected.

In politics, pay to play refers to a system, akin to payola in the music industry, by which one pays (or must pay) money in order to become a player. The common denominator of all forms of pay to play is that one must pay to “get in the game,” with the sports analogy frequently arising.^[1]

Typically, the payer (an individual, business, or organization) makes campaign contributions to public officials, party officials, or parties themselves, and receives political or pecuniary benefit such as no-bid government contracts, influence over legislation,^[2]^[3] political appointments or nominations,^[4]^[5] special access^[6] or other favors. The contributions, less frequently, may be to nonprofit or institutional entities,^[7] or may take the form of some benefit to a third party, such as a family member of a governmental official.^[8]

The phrase, almost always used in criticism, also refers to the increasing cost of elections and the “price of admission” to even run^[9] and the concern “that one candidate can far outspend his opponents, essentially buying the election.”^[10]

While the direct exchange of campaign contributions for contracts is the most visible form of Pay to Play, the greater concern is the central role of money in politics, and its skewing both the composition and the policies of government.^[11]^[12] Thus, those who can pay the price of admission, such as to a $1000/plate dinner or $25,000 “breakout session,” gain access to power and/or its spoils, to the exclusion of those who cannot or will not pay: “giving certain people advantages that other[s] don’t have because they donated to your campaign.”^[13] Good-government advocates consider this an outrage because “political fundraising should have no relationship to policy recommendations.”^[14] Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington called the “Pay-to-Play Congress” one of the top 10 scandals of 2008.^[15]

Incumbent candidates and their political organizations^[16] are typically the greatest beneficiaries of Pay-to-Play. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have been criticized for the practice. Many seeking to ban or restrict the practice characterize pay-to-play as legalized corruption. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_to_Play

Webster Tarpley

“Webster Griffin Tarpley is an author, journalist, lecturer, and critic of US foreign and domestic policy. Tarpley maintains that the events of 9/11 were engineered by a rogue network of the military industrial complex and the CIA. His writings and speeches describe a model of false flag terror operations by a rogue network in the military/intelligence sector working with moles in the private sector and in corporate media, and locates such contemporary false flag operations in a historical context stretching back in the English speaking world to at least the “gunpowder plot” in England in 1605. …”

“In January 2008, Tarpley became one of the first critics to assert that Barack Obama is actually managed by right-wing powerbrokers. Tarpley claimed that a shift in power had taken place in the ruling class, with the Zbigniew Brzezinski faction and its presidential candidate Obama ascendant over the lame-duck neocons. The targets of US imperialism would now be Russia, China and its ally Pakistan, instead of Iraq, Iran and Syria. He developed these themes in his two books on Obama.

Tarpley is also a tough critic of free market, particularly the Austrian School and Chicago School economics ^[12]. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster_Tarpley

Elizabeth Warren

“Elizabeth Warren is the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where she teaches contract law, bankruptcy, and commercial law. Warren graduated from the University of Houston with a B.S. in 1970 and received her J.D from Rutgers Law—Newark in 1976.

Warren is a member of the FDIC’s Committee on Economic Inclusion. She is the former Vice-President of the American Law Institute and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She served as the Chief Adviser to the National Bankruptcy Review Commission. Warren is a popular teacher, winning awards from her students at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan, and the University of Houston Law Center.

Warren has testified several times before House and the Senate committees on financial issues. The National Law Journal has repeatedly named Professor Warren as one of the Fifty Most Influential Women Attorneys in America, and she has been recognized for her work by SmartMoney magazine, Money magazine, and Law Dragon. …”

“On November 14, 2008 Ms. Warren was appointed by United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to chair the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.^[5] The reports of the Panel are available at http://cop.senate.gov. …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren

Jim Rogers – Super-inflation to come worldwide

Jim Rogers Britain Can’t afford it (23.01.09) 1/2

Jim Rogers Britain Can’t afford it (23.01.09) 2/2

Marc Faber “U S will default on debt or enter hyperinflation” 02-05-09

$78 Billion Financial (TARP) Bailout Scandal: Taxpayers Shortchanged on Asset Purchases

Elizabeth Warren Introduces COP’s Valuation Report

In this video, Chairperson Elizabeth Warren introduces COP’s third oversight report: Valuing Treasury’s Acquisitions. This report features a deal-by-deal analysis of the value Treasury received in exchange for the taxpayer dollars it spent on the ten largest TARP transactions.

Obama and Democrats are Responsible: Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac

The Democrats and Obama caused the financial crisis of 08 by supporting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and covering up their bad books.

Obama and Fannie Mae

Spendulus Alert: $50 billion for “mandatory mortgage modifications”

By Michelle Malkin

“I uploaded the entire Sellout Substitute Amendment championed by the Turncoat Caucus this weekend. Did you read through to the very end of the 778-page legislative text? Did your Senator? If you did, then you saw this: ….

“…Yes, you read that correctly. $50 billion more of your money made available to tax cheat/bailout failout architect Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to force banks to do loan modifications with homeowners deep under water on their mortgages. That’s in addition to the $20 billion already allocated by the House last month for the same purposes.

Banks have been engaged in these “mo mod” programs over the past year. The Democrats want to accelerate the pace and use the power of government to essentially provide a blanket amnesty for borrowers and lenders who made bad financial decisions. Yes, I know there are many responsible borrowers out there having trouble negotiating loan modifications. I’ve heard from some of you. But this $50 billion giveaway to the banks — the brainchild of unscrupulous borrower Chris Dodd – is exactly the wrong way to go. …”

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/02/09/spendulus-alert-50-billion-for-mandatory-mortgage-modifications/

Background Articles and Videos

Inhofe Floor Speech Opposing Geithner Confirmation

Geithner Accepted IMF Reimbursement for Taxes He Didn’t Pay
The problem with the treasury secretary-designate’s tax records.

By Byron York

“…Documents released by the Senate Finance Committee strongly suggest that Geithner knew, or should have known, what he was doing when he did not pay self-employment taxes in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. After his failure to pay was discovered, first by the IRS and later during the vetting process, Geithner paid the federal government a total of $42,702 in taxes and interest.

The IMF did not withhold state and federal income taxes or self-employment taxes — Social Security and Medicare — from its employees’ paychecks. But the IMF took great care to explain to those employees, in detail and frequently, what their tax responsibilities were. First, each employee was given the IMF Employee Tax Manual. Then, employees were given quarterly wage statements for the specific purpose of calculating taxes. Then, they were given year-end wage statements. And then, each IMF employee was required to file what was known as an Annual Tax Allowance Request. Geithner received all those documents.

The tax allowance has turned out to be a key part of the Geithner situation. This is how it worked. IMF employees were expected to pay their taxes out of their own money. But the IMF then gave them an extra allowance, known as a “gross-up,” to cover those tax payments. This was done in the Annual Tax Allowance Request, in which the employee filled out some basic information — marital status, dependent children, etc. — and the IMF then estimated the amount of taxes the employee would owe and gave the employee a corresponding allowance.

At the end of the tax allowance form were the words, “I hereby certify that all the information contained herein is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and that I will pay the taxes for which I have received tax allowance payments from the Fund.” Geithner signed the form. He accepted the allowance payment. He didn’t pay the tax. For several years in a row. …”

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzJjOGQyODY2ZjhhMWY4Y2U3YmVkMjhlMWQ2MWZiNTA=

Top Ten Disturbing Aspects of Obama’s Choice of Treasury Secretary

“…4. Press coverage

The Associated Press and other media outlets relentlessly drone on about tax “discrepancies,” “tax goofs,” and the nomination’s supposed inevitability. Geithner’s partial reimbursements for taxes he didn’t pay and the related false attestations, which York obtained from Senate sources, are being ignored. There is no chance that a GOP president could nominate someone with Geithner’s tax problems for any cabinet position, let alone Treasury secretary, and get such a pass from the press.

3. Possible press conflicts of interest

Cliff Kincaid at Accuracy in Media points out that some press outlets are parts of larger firms with financial stakes in the financial bailout. Example: General Electric, which owns NBC, also owns bailout recipient GE Capital. GE CEO Jeffrey Inmelt is also on the New York Fed’s board.

2. Disparate treatment of previously pulled nominees

Zoe Baird (Clinton, 1993), Kimba Wood (Clinton, 1993), and Linda Chavez (Bush, 2001) all had relatively minor or potential issues with self-employment taxes on household help. Geithner’s unpaid amounts were exponentially larger. Is there a whiff of male chauvinism in the air?

1. Barack Obama’s reaction

No president in my lifetime would have dared to nominate Geithner. But “44″ Obama calls Geithner’s problems a mere “embarrassment.”

It leaves you wondering if anyone in Washington knows or cares about the difference between right and wrong. We’re expected to overlook Geithner’s problems because he is supposedly the only person in a nation of 200 million adults who can do the job. Give me a break.

If he really knows the pertinent facts, Barack Obama’s ringing defense of Geithner should cause the American people to question his fundamental “judgment to lead.” …”

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/top-ten-disturbing-aspects-of-obamas-choice-of-treasury-secretary/

Wall Street Rapes America, Edition 9

“…Wall Street is a very tough place, if you don’t know what is going on, your money will be taken from you. I can’t think of a more outrageous rape of the taxpayer, ever, than the TARP program run by GW Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. It should be noted that Paulson’s lieutenant in the rape of the taxpayer was Timothy Geithenr, who came up short paying his own personal taxes, but managed to help dole out $350 billion in taxpayer money through TARP and is likely to be confirmed by the Senate today as the new Treasury Secretary.

If you get the sense today that someone is laughing at you behind your back, you’ll be right. It’s Geithner. …”

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/labels/TimothyGeithner.html

Giving in to Geithner: The B.O. Republicans bow down

“…he Barack Obama Republicans are Bending Over again.

For weeks, we’ve watched capitulationsist GOP Senators rationalize away Treasury Secretary nominee Tim Geithner’s tax, legal, and bailout failout troubles. Sen. Orrin Hatch insists he’s “very competent.” Sen. Lindsay Graham lectured us not to be “small” about it. Five B.O. Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee supported Geithner, five opposed him.

The final vote is set tonight. And the outcome is preordained (or, as Spike Lee puts it, pre-deortained): Geithner will sail through with token opposition. …”

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/01/26/giving-in-to-geithner-the-bo-republicans-bow-down/

Raymond T. Pronk

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~Thomas Jefferson

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