The world's smartest man in the country's greatest crisis?
When the reasons for doing something are framed as they have been for Treasury Secretary nominee Geithner, they should serve as a warning sign. It is in precisely those conditions that very bad decisions are too often made. "We have no choice." "There is no other nominee as qualified." "This crisis calls for. . ." "We'll confirm him in spite of that."
The facts surrounding Geithner's decision - and it was a decision - not pay taxes are disturbing:
That he didn't recall the tax preparation software, TurboTax warning him about the oversight.
That he didn't agree to pay the all taxes until knowing he might be nominated in spite of knowing about the error since 2006.
That he first paid the 2003 and 2004 amounts but not the 2001 and 2002 amounts.
Why does this matter given the crisis? I would submit that during a crisis it matters even more. These actions give us an important insight to this man. How did he behave outside the scrutiny of the public eye? How did he behave with his money when "no one was watching."
Not acting on that insight is an equally important mistake. The public trust will be ignored. And not even Paul Volcker can change that.
Watch Geithner apologize then read this column:
The facts surrounding Geithner's decision - and it was a decision - not pay taxes are disturbing:
That he didn't recall the tax preparation software, TurboTax warning him about the oversight.
That he didn't agree to pay the all taxes until knowing he might be nominated in spite of knowing about the error since 2006.
That he first paid the 2003 and 2004 amounts but not the 2001 and 2002 amounts.
Why does this matter given the crisis? I would submit that during a crisis it matters even more. These actions give us an important insight to this man. How did he behave outside the scrutiny of the public eye? How did he behave with his money when "no one was watching."
Not acting on that insight is an equally important mistake. The public trust will be ignored. And not even Paul Volcker can change that.
Watch Geithner apologize then read this column:
Posted by Cultural Offering at 1/21/2009 9:14 PM 
Categories: Ethic of Responsibility, Economy, Democrats, Obama
Categories: Ethic of Responsibility, Economy, Democrats, Obama
Der schlikster. Or a work to that effect.
Most bankers are going to be just fine as the ship goes down. The rest of us will be called to buck up and sacrifice for the common good.
Thanks for sharing both. Enjoyed the November post too. E
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