The Fed, Fannie and Fred

"[Tim Geithner, Ben Bernanke and Barney Frank] are calling to raise the debt ceiling. This will assist them with perpetuating the biggest legal government scam in history [financial institution bailouts of over $12 trillion]. Meanwhile, responsible middle class Americans are barely making it, as their investments are devalued and government expands, finding more ways to collect money from them to support its Ponzi scheme.

This is not capitalism gone amuck, as Barney Frank claims. The government bailing out private banks is not capitalism but quasi-socialism. There is a simple solution to fix this: the banks must be held accountable. There should be a way to sue the banks that originate the irresponsible investments and loans, even if they transfer their risky ventures to other banks. Nor should they be bailed out when they fail. For every bank that fails, another one that is more financially responsible is ready to step up and take its place. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are quasi-governmental lending agencies, so suing them would only hurt the taxpayers. They were responsible for the highest rates of foreclosures. They have grossly failed, and represent government at its worst, so the only solution is to eliminate them." Rachel Alexander

The Biggest Legalized Theft of Middle Class American Wealth - Page 1 - Rachel Alexander - Townhall Conservative

Timothy Geithner and Bill Gates: A New Initiative to Feed the World

Tax Cheat Geithner wants to feed the world. Excuse me, if I'm not impressed.

"Today, the United States, Canada, Spain, South Korea and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are making a commitment to fight the threat of global food insecurity. Together we are launching the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, a new fund to help the world's poorest farmers grow more food and earn more than they do now so they can lift themselves out of hunger and poverty."

Timothy Geithner and Bill Gates: A New Initiative to Feed the World - WSJ.com

In one of my other lives I worked in the agricultural credit field on a US AID grant. Fascinating work. One of the most important things I learned was that there was no shortage of food, no shortage of calories. Even using outdated and non-scientific methods (although the push for the green revolution was huge in the 70s). No. It was corrupt governments and bad infrastructure that caused hunger and starvation. Crops rotting in the fields due to civil wars, or no roads, or no trucks to bring them to market or ports. Or pirates when the food stuffs did get there. And in the 70s, malaria was under control--all that has been made worse by environmentalists removing DDT from their tool box.

So if this aid is going to farmers we aren't going to see much change. In fact, there's very good evidence that foreign aid, particularly from former guilt-ridden colonial European countries has actually hurt many third world countries by ruining their markets for their own products or creating dependency on government aid.

Isn't this how we got this mess?

Putting people into mortgages who couldn't afford them? And have you seen the fraud in the first period?

Administration Calls on Congress to Approve Key Housing Measures

"WASHINGTON, DC – Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan called on Congress to approve three important measures to improve housing and the housing market for Americans: extension of the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit for a limited period, extension of higher loan limits for home mortgages, and secure funding for the Housing Trust Fund.

"We welcome efforts taken by Congress to extend the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit for a limited period. This credit has brought new families into the housing market and contributed to three consecutive months of rising home prices nationwide," said Secretaries Geithner and Donovan. "In extending the credit, we urge Congress to include strict measures to combat tax fraud and protect responsible homeowners. We also urge Congress to act swiftly to extend the loan limits that currently apply to most mortgages, helping make rates more affordable for middle-class families. Finally, we will work with Congress to identify a financing source for the Housing Trust Fund, which will help provide decent housing for families hardest hit by the current economic downturn."

"These three measures will help support our efforts to stabilize the housing market by providing support for the recovery in housing prices, keeping mortgage rates low, and helping people who can afford their homes to avoid foreclosure," said Secretary Geithner.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said, "These three measures provide comprehensive support to our recovering housing market and continued access to affordable housing. While extending the tax credit and higher loan limits will help promote homeownership, funding the Housing Trust Fund will provide assistance to renter households impacted by the economic crisis." " from U.S. Department of the Treasury, October, 29, 2009

Geithner and Rangel combating tax evasion?

I think this message from tax cheat Geithner about tax cheat Rangel would be amusing if we can laugh and gag all at the same time.

"The legislation introduced today by Chairman Rangel and Chairman Baucus follows through on the Administration's commitment to combating offshore tax evasion and ensuring a level playing field. For too long, individuals have taken advantage of the system by hiding money in accounts overseas, while millions of families and small businesses here at home pay the price. This legislation will reduce the amount of taxes lost through the illegal use of hidden accounts and is the next step in making sure that everyone pays their fair share.

"This legislation fits well into the Administration's dual-track strategy of improving our domestic tax laws while increasing global cooperation on tax information exchange to help narrow the tax gap and create the fairer tax system we need. We have had great success recently in working with countries around the world to increase tax information exchange as part of the global effort to end offshore tax evasion.

"In addition to the leadership of Chairman Rangel and Chairman Baucus, I want to acknowledge the work of Senators Kerry and Levin and Representatives Neal and Doggett in support of a strong international tax enforcement agenda."

Rangel has out of the country real estate that rents for over $1000 a night but he claims just a mild oversight for 20 years. You try that. Geithner misreported his overseas income until he was caught, and then continued.

And these are the non-Marxists in the administration! Yikes.

Geithner's on top of this tax cheat scheme

Sept. 8, 2009 "WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced that the United States and Monaco have signed an agreement to allow for the exchange of information on tax matters between the two countries. The agreement was signed by Deputy Secretary Neal Wolin and Minister Franck Biancheri in Washington.

"This Administration is wholeheartedly committed to combating offshore tax evasion," said Deputy Secretary Wolin. "We are working with countries like Monaco to ensure that the IRS has access to the information that it needs to enforce U.S. tax law. Today's agreement serves as an example for other financial centers around the world and reflects our continued efforts to end the use of offshore accounts as a tool for tax evasion." (Weekly Digest e-mail from U.S. Department of the Treasury) "

What I wrote about Timothy Geithner on January 15

Someone at IRS gave Geithner a pass Go, do not go to jail card, because he was too big to fail. It was the Obama team vetting him that found the error. The IRS let him off the hook. Another too big, too brilliant to fail, Washington insider. When will we learn? We are about to have a tax crook as head of Treasury!

There was plenty of information for Geithner to correct his own mistakes--no special laws needed--even very low level employees paid by international organizations knew what to do with that reimbursement money. But because of his position with the fed, he was above the law. So how has his appointment helped our economy?

Is there a double standard based on race? Van Jones has to go because he's a loud mouth paranoid bigot, but the white guy crook with good manners gets to be a member of the inner circle?

Geithner wants YOU to play by the rules!

The biggest tax evader/cheat in Obama’s administration, our very own Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, wants to make sure you’re not doing anything funny over there in Switzerland--or Gibraltar and Luxembourg. Sweet!

From Weekly Digest, U.S. Treasury:

WASHINGTON--As part of the Obama Administration's aggressive efforts to enforce U.S. tax laws and reduce offshore tax evasion, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced the conclusion of negotiations with Switzerland to amend the U.S.-Switzerland income tax treaty to provide for increased tax information exchange. Official signing of the protocol is expected in the next few months.

"This Administration is committed to reducing off shore tax evasion to help ensure that all U.S. taxpayers are playing by the same rules," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. "This treaty will increase our ability to enforce our tax laws and will help bring an end to an era of offshore accounts and investments being used for tax evasion."

The protocol would revise the existing U.S.-Switzerland income tax treaty to allow for the exchange of information for income tax purposes to the full extent permitted by Article 26 of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Model Income Tax Convention.

In recent months, the Administration has demonstrated its commitment to closing the tax gap. At the G-20 Leaders' Summit, the U.S. strongly supported efforts to ensure that all countries adhere to international standards for exchange of tax information. In the FY 2010 Budget, the Administration delivered a detailed reform agenda to reduce the amount of taxes lost through unintended loopholes and the illegal use of hidden accounts by well-off individuals. The Treasury Department recently concluded Gibraltar's first-ever tax information exchange agreement and also signed an agreement with Luxembourg to provide for greater exchange of tax information.

I'm sure glad they're cracking down on these rich guys. You're next.

Geithner's profile

Was it photoshopped? That photo of Geithner in yesterday's WSJ (p. A8 in our edition) was odd, did you notice? Is his nose really as long as it appeared (a sign of lying in fairy tales, and so far the BOADMIN seems one long fairy tale, mystery or true crime story). Geithner's ears looked slightly pointy, too. In fact, the eye brows. . .

Reassuring China

According to today's WSJ, Timothy Geithner "is expected to try to reassure China--the largest holder of U.S. Treasurys--about its U.S. debt investments as well as the strength of the dollar." Now, the Obama team can't be blamed for China owning us--that goes back a bit. But the Chinese aren't stupid. They thought they were investing in capitalism! What a surprise! One more company, GM, taken over today and given to the unions, and the President announces it is only going to get worse. Old Timmy's going to have to really peddle fast to get out of this mess. Plus, doesn't this sound a tad tentative?

expected
to try
to reassure

A tax cheat and a cheating liar

That Timothy Geithner. What a guy. People desperately want to believe Obama knew what he was doing in appointing him chief tax cheat.

It's Over ... or Not. The deepest recession in modern memory is coming to an end, said Department of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during a May 18 briefing. Geithner pointed to improvements in credit and financial markets, among other indicators, as signs that the economy was starting to come back. However, the Federal Reserve Board's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)—the body that sets the federal funds rate, or the interest rate banks charge each other for loans—downgraded its economic forecast for 2009 in the recently released minutes of its late April meeting. Almost all FOMC members downgraded their projections from the ones they made in January, and the group as a whole is now projecting the U.S.'s real gross domestic product in 2009 to decrease by 2 percentage points from 2008, to 1.3 percent. The FOMC also predicts U.S. unemployment to continue rising and increased its projection for unemployment in 2009 to be between 9.2 and 9.6 percent, up from 8.4 to 8.8 percent in earlier prognostications. The FOMC projects nationwide unemployment to remain near 8 percent through 2011, before trending back to between 4.8 and 5 percent over the longer run. The FOMC did agree with Geithner in one respect, though, saying it expects a recovery in sales and production to begin in the second half of the year."

Weekly Federal Update, May 18-22, by Ethan Butterfield, Architect Magazine On-line edition. I'm always amazed at people who can count how many years FDR drug out the Depression, and yet believe following his example will somehow not cause the same disaster.

Does Geithner know this?

Here's what it says on the Treasury Taxes web site--this could be serious for Timmy and other Obama appointees if they were serious

"Collecting taxes in a fair and consistent manner is a core mission of the Treasury Department. Treasury's priorities in tax administration are enforcing the nation's tax laws fairly and efficiently while balancing taxpayer service and education to promote voluntary compliance and reduce taxpayer burden."

But while I was there I signed up for a newsletter on taxes. Should be fun. Now that Obama has killed Chrysler, I probably won't be needing this. I love my Dodge van. I doubt that I've ever seen a 2009.

Obama fired the wrong guy

I opened one eye and half an ear to see what I hoped was the ghost of Tim Geithner on Meet the Press. TOTUS says it was a hired actor, but I don't think so. It was the real, flesh and blood lie-baby. The more he lied, the faster he talked, the more my jaw dropped. I don't know who was doing the interviewing, and I can't find the YouTube, nor would it be worth it to look at it again. Here's a guy who was working for FED which helped create the housing bubble and approved the AIG bonuses and when the TARP came down, now working for a former Senator who approved the d-d thing and got the wet snowball of financial disaster rolling down hill. Tim sounded like he was using Obama's teleprompter--not the machine, but the keyboardist/writer. Then they interviewed John McCain, who was very careful not to be disrespectful (which he didn't mind being when Bush was President), but he was truthful. Sarah Palin was his best feature, but oh my, he sounded so good after Tim the Two-Faced.

The Obamacons

No, Barack Obama is not to blame for the years and years of marxists and socialists with which we have peopled our Congress [beginning in the 1920s], but he has given them permission to act like fools. First, he appointed a tax cheat as Secretary of Treasury, Timothy Geithner, who skipped ethics class and church, to lead us out of a mess created by years and years of government tampering with the economy to the tune of trillions and trillions in bad paper. Second, by having zip-nada-zilch business experience and being the titlular head of ACORN, President Obama helped create the mob mentality in Congress and in front of the AIG execs' homes, the very people the Obamacons hired to get us out of the mess. Creating and inciting mobs to violence (someone had to pay for the bus, the meals, the driver, the "community organizer" to gather them up from street corners and bars) is resorting to the old USSR and Chi-Com tactics of decades past. Worked then, why not today?

In today's WSJ, Hernando de Soto says something very important about contracts--something so key to this trumped up AIG bonus frenzy, he probably didn't even realize it, since I don't think he's that sympathetic to capitalists, and writes about the disparity between the poor and wealthy.

"Ever since humans started trading, lending and investing beyond the confines of the family and the tribe, we have depended on legally authenticated written statements to get the facts about things of value. Over the past 200 years, that legal authority has matured into a global consensus on the procedures, standards and principles required to document facts in a way that everyone can easily understand and trust.

The result is a formidable property system with rules and recording mechanisms that fix on paper the facts that allow us to hold, transfer, transform and use everything we own, from stocks to screenplays." WSJ article

What he left out is that Congress has violated this long tradition of honoring a contract. Everyone (at least on their staff) from Obama on down through the newest elected Representative, like Mary Jo Kilroy from Ohio, knew that the people getting the "bonus" (i.e. a salary due at the end of a service) were not the people who ran AIG into the ground. They were the people hired to fix the mess. Now, given how they were treated, how mobs were hired and their families threatened by the likes of Barney Frankenstein in trumped up phony televised hearings, would you want to sign on for government service to help your country?

If the contracts with AIG are worthless, so are your mortgage, your college transcript, your bank CD certificate, your credit card interest agreement, your auto lease, your pension plan payout and the menu at your favorite restaurant.

Will Congress stop the mob mentality and accept the blame?

Little in our congressional history can match the ridiculous behavior of this past week's hearings and mob scene over these bailout bonuses, written into a contract Congress hastily made in the final months of the Bush administration and early weeks of Obama's. They have embarrassed the entire country and the new President acting like gangs of thugs looking for blood. The bonuses are "retention contracts" to save AIG--or does Congress want to destroy a company it just bought? And $165 million is pennies next to the trillions they are sprinkling around, including to the willing hands of my own wealthy suburban government here in Ohio, and the combined losses to our retirement funds and other investments. The phony outrage is cover for the fact that neither Geithner or Paulson nor Congress or Bernacke have a clue about how to "bailout" the economy--they should have just let it recover on its own with the laws and regulations already in place and stop trying to "save" bad investments and failed government programs. A decade of failed programs in the 1930s and 40s taught them nothing except how to throw good money after bad.

“WASHINGTON - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner confirmed yesterday that his department urged Sen. Chris Dodd to water down the executive-bonus limits included in last month's stimulus bill, a move that allowed the payment of $165 million in bonuses to American International Group employees.

As the House readied legislation to crack down on the outrage-inspiring bonuses, Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Banking Committee, and Geithner appeared at odds over who was really responsible for Congress' failure to prevent them in the first place.

Dodd, on the defensive over a loophole that enabled the bonuses to go forward, claimed the Obama administration insisted he modify his proposal to rein in bonuses at companies getting billions of dollars in financial bailouts so that it would only apply to payments agreed to in the future - thus clearing the way for the AIG payouts.” From Combined News Services report.

I hope the President enjoyed looking silly on Jay Leno's program; I awoke for a moment and heard him stammering at one soft ball questions, and pushed "click" for the 1970s reruns. Apparently the teleprompter (i.e. TOTUS) wasn't allowed on stage. See his blog for more on Obama's ad libs and the embarrassment it causes TOTUS.

Congress runs amock and violates the Constitution

Special tax on AIG bonuses after Treasury and Fed agreed to the contracts for the bonuses last fall. Link. Why is Congress trying to destroy AIG after they bought it with our money? Obviously, they want it to fail, right?

Bills of Attainder prohibited by the Constitution. Have any members of Congress ever read the Constitution?

Tim Geithner created the problem. Time for Tim to go!

Who's next? Beware the awful precedent this after-the-fact 90 percent tax grab will set. Michelle Malkin.

While the beltway sinks, the President flees to the Left Coast to appear with a comedian. Figures. What a classy guy.

Maybe the problem is Geithner?

“Obama said that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is trying to resolve the matter with AIG's CEO, Edward Liddy. "This is not just a matter of dollars and cents. It's about our fundamental values," the president said.”

Or maybe he didn’t just hire a tax cheat, but a complete incompetent who isn’t up front with his boss on anything. Geithner arranged the first bailout when he was with the Fed. The contracts for bonuses were well known then. Why did Obama have to learn about this “outrage” from the newspapers? Why call it greed when it is government incompetence? These are the Stooges we want running our economy? Democrats expected Bush to be able to anticipate the severity of a hurricane, but ignore that the Secretary of Treasury can't read an employment contract and anticipate what will happen in the public eye if they are met.Link.

Live blogging Liddy’s testimony

Obama spends trillions, frets about millions, and defends Geithner‘s duplicity in passing him the buck. Can this guy even make change? Link to WSJ blog.

"1:41: Kanjorski recognizes the repayments, but still wants to know why the details haven’t been provided earlier. Liddy basically calls it a business and legal judgment to prevent the FP unit from collapsing. “There’s risk that that would blow up,” he said. “If it were to blow up,” he adds, it would cause “irreparable damage.” In the big picture, Liddy suggests $165 million was a good trade-off to keep that from happening.

Liddy, upon questioning about who knew what and when, says “everything we do we do with the Federal Reserve,” which sits in at board meetings and compensation committee meetings. He says he’s been discussing the issue with the Fed for three months, and assumes the information went to Treasury via the Fed. “There was no intent to deceive or hide anything,” Liddy says.

1:47: Rep. Scott Garrett (R., N.J.) asks more about the timeline. Liddy said that talking last week to Tim Geithner, the Treasury secretary, Geithner indicated he learned about the bonus issue the prior week. That appears to conflict with the timeline put forth by the Obama administration, saying Geithner only learned last Tuesday (March 10)."

So let's see. Talked last week to Geithner who said he knew the prior week--that's before we left for the Holy Land. Wonder why it's just an outrage now? Besides, Geithner was with the Fed when AIG got its first bailout. Did this tax cheat guy even graduate from college? Did he pass math?

Here's your tax break

Don't spend it all in one place.

Q: What are some of the tax breaks in the bill?

A: It includes Obama's signature "Making Work Pay" tax credit for 95 percent of workers, though negotiators agreed to trim the credit to $400 a year instead of $500 — or $800 for married couples, cut from Obama's original proposal of $1,000. It would begin showing up in most workers' paychecks in June as an extra $13 a week in take-home pay, falling to about $8 a week next January.

There is also a $70 billion, one-year fix for the alternative minimum tax. The fix would save some 20 million mainly upper-middle-income taxpayers about $2,000 in taxes for 2009. Yahoo News

I think the decrease in the cost of gasoline in the fall added about $2,000 to the average worker's wallet, didn't it? So what will $13 a week, dropping to $8 a week do? What is that, a half pack of cigarettes a day? And their taxes on that pack are the ones paying for the new SCHIP for the middle class. A cup of coffee a day at Panera's? And now we know it's good for us. Where are all those whiners who disparaged the Bush stimulus--like Michelle Obama? Meanwhile, Geithner the tax evader is promising to throw trillions at . . . what? Does anyone know what he's talking about?

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner vowed on Tuesday to jumpstart the nation’s financial system, announcing sweeping new plans to aid struggling banks, spur lending and help beleaguered homeowners.

The program will commit as much as $2 trillion in public and private funds to spur consumer and business lending.

Geithner christened the administration’s revamped bailout program the “Financial Stability Plan,” a not-so-subtle attempt to distance the new Obama administration from the much-maligned management of the “Troubled Asset Relief Program” established in the waning days of the Bush administration. Politico

I'm not too good at math but I saw this at Soda Head: At a million dollars a day, it would take 1,000,000 days or about 2,740 years to spend one trillion. If you want to spend it in your (obviously not mine) life time you would have to spend at least 20 billion per day. Even then it would take you 50 years.

FiSP instead of TARP.

Read The Audacity of Dopes by William K. Black.

Maybe if he weren't a tax cheat

we could trust him? Nah. He'd be doing Obama's bidding even if he were honest. Stocks fell again today. The markets have fallen continually since Obama became the candidate of the Dems in the summer. Why does Obama blame Bush for overspending when he's doing double triple time to out do him? Wasn't he a senator in a Democratic controlled Congress? Spending too much got us here; more spending takes us back to the 30s where FDR put us in a 10 year Depression. He's passing out lip-smackin' pork cracklins to his left wing buddies who put him in office.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner may have wanted to put an end to the never-ending credit crisis by announcing a comprehensive approach to saving the banking system, but all he succeeded in doing Tuesday was adding uncertainty. Forbes here.


"The Obama administration is scrambling to get a grip on the economy as it continues its descent, including rising unemployment, falling housing prices and mounting foreclosures. The government's solution is a one-two punch: $800 billion in economic stimulus and the financial system stability plan.

Geithner wants to reverse the damage done by the previous administration's ad-hoc reaction to the banking crisis, which he faulted Tuesday for being "inadequate" and slow."

Geithner's a pox on Obama's House

Another appointee in trouble for taxes.

"Labor Secretary nominee Hilda Solis became the latest Cabinet nominee to face questions about unpaid taxes Thursday as a Senate panel abruptly postponed a scheduled vote on her confirmation.

The postponement came after revelations that Solis' husband settled tax liens on his California auto repair business this week that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years." CNS News

Didn't she have to sign his tax returns? Different standard for Hispanics? I think until Obama releases Geithner from his "one and only" status as the guy who can save us, he'll continue to attract people who have "forgotten" to pay their taxes. "Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., says lawmakers are committed to giving Solis "the fair and thorough consideration that she deserves.” " Yes, and she's definitely lacking and deserves the door--out.

My library fines

Before I retired in 2000, I went to the business office to pay my library fine--$12.00. I don't remember how I got it because there's no penalty until it gets to $50, or at least that was then. I was a library manager, so I could have used my password and deleted it, but I didn't. I forget who was out of the office, but I was told to not worry about it. So everytime I checked something out for the last 8 years, I was reminded I had a $12 fine. Then last week I forgot to renew an Ohiolink book, and $4 was added. Now my fine is $16. I have a book about the Apostle Paul waiting to be picked up at Ackerman Road (location of all the offices while the Main Library on campus is being "revitalized.")

Barack Obama had nearly $375 in parking tickets from his Harvard days almost 20 years in arrears, and he didn't pay them until he decided to run for president in 2007. His staff said it was nothing. Another one of those, "everybody does it," I suppose. Look at me. A librarian with a $12 fine going unpaid for 8 years. The woman he decided to crack down on for being less than $1,000 behind in her taxes, Nancy Killefer who had paid it long before he tried to appoint her, had to meet a different standard than either the President or the Head of Treasury, Timothy Geithner, who wasn't just forgetful, but an out and out cheat and crook. After he was caught the first time, he paid his taxes and penalties, then did it again and was trying to outrun the statute of limitations, which apparently I don't have on my library fine, or Obama on his parking tickets. But then, Geithner is the only genius in all the Federal Reserve System or among all the lobbyists from the Clinton era, or all the guys to choose from the Congress, who can save us. Never mind he headed the powerful NY Fed and noticed nothing coming that even hinted at a sub-prime meltdown, just like the SEC whiz kids who thought Madoff was too big to fail.

But I better pay my fine. Obama might just call on me to be the official blogger of the opposition.