Post by unlawflcombatnt on Jan 22, 2010 12:28:10 GMT -6
Is the worst member of Obama's team, Timothy Geithner, on the outs with the Administration? The Washington Post seems to think so. (Maybe he'll take Summers with him.)
from Reuters:
Is Geithner on the Outs in Obama's White House?
"The Washington Post today speculates on whether Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is on the outs in the Obama Administration. The story hits all the dramatic notes from yesterday’s announcement that President Obama was proposing Paul Volcker’s version of a new Glass-Steagall Act over Geithner's and economics advisor Larry Summers’ more modest plans for reform.
Volcker, standing right behind the president, beamed. Geithner, further away, struck an emotionless pose. An anonymous figure says, “His influence may have slipped.” Geithner has actually agreed with Volcker’s thinking all along, just, you know, not enough to actually support his actual proposal until now.
The 2nd half of the article explains how Volcker, finding little support in the White House or Treasury, took his campaign out to the streets, or wherever it is economists and retired CEOs hang out, and picked up advocates outside of government. After reaching a critical mass, Austan Goolsbee, aligned and along with Vice President Biden, started pushing Volcker’s views. By late December, Obama was telling Geithner and Summers to go along and draft a legislative proposal incorporating Volcker’s ideas rather than theirs.
As a reminder, the heart of Volcker’s proposal is to prevent banks from taking advantage of their government protection as key components of the financial system to engage in prop trading, or investing with their own money, sometimes in direct conflicts with their clients’ interests. Of course, the proposal must now be voted on by Congress. The New York Times, by the way, examines the populist overtones in Obama’s message and mentions the fact that the political team considers the economic team of Geithner and Summers, “politically tone deaf.”...."
On a separate issue:
"With Republican Scott Brown being elected to fill Ted Kennedy’s Senate Seat in Massachusetts, and health care reform seeming to be a victim to the resulting shift in the balance of Senate power, insurance companies sound a little worried that they may have killed, well, not the golden goose, but the farmer who had been taking care of it all these years.
The Times reports that, “Now, in the possible absence of forced change to their business, the insurers still face the daunting challenge of selling a product that is increasingly out of reach for more Americans as the cost of medical care — and thus premiums — continues to climb.” Turns out with employer-sponsored plans declining—thanks to record unemployment—insurance companies are a little worried about where their customers and revenues are going to come from. “Congress was potentially delivering as many as 30 million new customers to the insurance market — many of whom would be able to afford coverage because the government would subsidize the cost of premiums,” the paper said...."
from Reuters:
Is Geithner on the Outs in Obama's White House?
"The Washington Post today speculates on whether Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is on the outs in the Obama Administration. The story hits all the dramatic notes from yesterday’s announcement that President Obama was proposing Paul Volcker’s version of a new Glass-Steagall Act over Geithner's and economics advisor Larry Summers’ more modest plans for reform.
Volcker, standing right behind the president, beamed. Geithner, further away, struck an emotionless pose. An anonymous figure says, “His influence may have slipped.” Geithner has actually agreed with Volcker’s thinking all along, just, you know, not enough to actually support his actual proposal until now.
The 2nd half of the article explains how Volcker, finding little support in the White House or Treasury, took his campaign out to the streets, or wherever it is economists and retired CEOs hang out, and picked up advocates outside of government. After reaching a critical mass, Austan Goolsbee, aligned and along with Vice President Biden, started pushing Volcker’s views. By late December, Obama was telling Geithner and Summers to go along and draft a legislative proposal incorporating Volcker’s ideas rather than theirs.
As a reminder, the heart of Volcker’s proposal is to prevent banks from taking advantage of their government protection as key components of the financial system to engage in prop trading, or investing with their own money, sometimes in direct conflicts with their clients’ interests. Of course, the proposal must now be voted on by Congress. The New York Times, by the way, examines the populist overtones in Obama’s message and mentions the fact that the political team considers the economic team of Geithner and Summers, “politically tone deaf.”...."
On a separate issue:
"With Republican Scott Brown being elected to fill Ted Kennedy’s Senate Seat in Massachusetts, and health care reform seeming to be a victim to the resulting shift in the balance of Senate power, insurance companies sound a little worried that they may have killed, well, not the golden goose, but the farmer who had been taking care of it all these years.
The Times reports that, “Now, in the possible absence of forced change to their business, the insurers still face the daunting challenge of selling a product that is increasingly out of reach for more Americans as the cost of medical care — and thus premiums — continues to climb.” Turns out with employer-sponsored plans declining—thanks to record unemployment—insurance companies are a little worried about where their customers and revenues are going to come from. “Congress was potentially delivering as many as 30 million new customers to the insurance market — many of whom would be able to afford coverage because the government would subsidize the cost of premiums,” the paper said...."