Geithner: Economy Is Better By Any Measurement
by PubliusThis morning, in testimony before the Joint Economic Committee, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that, by any measurement of the strength and stability of the US economy, the economy today is better than it was when Obama took office. Sheesh, tell that to the millions of people who have lost their job since January.
Apparently, “any measurement” doesn’t include the unemployment rate, job growth, number of jobs, wage growth, hours worked, home foreclosures, rate of mortgage delinquencies, etc.
One thing has improved, however. The stock market is up since Obama was sworn in. Given the billions they’ve poured into Wall Street firms and the fact that there are few other investment opportunities, this isn’t too surprising. That is a ray of good news, we admit. But Wall Street isn’t the economy. We just wish this crew would understand that.
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78 Comments
Timothy TAX CHEAT Geithner is an IDIOT
With the exception of the economy, the economy is doing great.
The federal government used to spend around 19% of the GDP annually. Now that number is in the 30% range. Perhaps that is what he was referring to, in reality?
"The Government has grown at a rapid pace in the last nine months. This is proof positive that the economy will soon follow." – Timmy
Where can one find the drugs which would make a person so delusional?
Timmy Geitner?
That boy isn't old enough, or tall enough to exude CONfidence. He should be managing a lemonade stand, or be Assistant Manager at McDonalds, as opposed to being Treasury Secretary. Despite his big brain and small skull, everything is relevant. perhaps that is why he has that perpetual pinched look on his face, furrowing his brow and feigning concern for US? We do not need clowns seeking On The Job Training…………
The biggest indicator flying under the radar is that inventory levels fell again – for the 13th straight month. Businesses aren't expanding. Everyone is unwilling to stick their neck out too far, so don't expect any quick rebound in employment – it wouldn't surprise me to see the unemployment rate exceed 11% in the first half of 2011. I wouldn't have thought that a few months ago.
And all of this is in lpace right before the commercial real estate market begins to crater next year in a manner more destructive than the housing real estate sector did already.
The only things that will save the economy in a significant way are four things:
1- take the rest of the stimulus $$ and return them to the treasury
2- forget about health care reform – employers won't hire while that is out there
3- get rid of cap and trade (although reports are that it won't reach the Senate floor until April 2010)
4- extend the Bush tax cuts
Until then, we are just treading water.
I'm not sure anymore, where one goes to buy get some my drug days have been long gone. But whatever this man is smoking i'd like a couple of tokes.
Timmy Geitner needs to resign, and take Helicopter Ben Bernanke with him……..
What Geithner forgot to mention is that today is, in fact, is opposite day.
This one should be swinging by the neck along with Harry and Nancy.
http://www.cafepress.com/rightwingstuff
And those four are just enough to return us back to where we were in January!
We are in Kansas Toto!
This is what it must have been like to live under Nero in Rome. While the US economy and jobs burn, Geithner and Hussein fiddle. These clowns are in so far over their heads. The election of this economically illiterate traitor who's accomplished absolutely nothing may be the lowest point in American history.
Barack Hussein will go down in American history as a fraud who was ineligible to be president, a traitor and the person who presided over the collapse of our economy. If America has any self respect left it will treat Hussein as a national pariah when he's thrown out in 2012.
Geithner? Just another Obama loser in action from the battalion of losers picked by the Chosen One and supported by the losers in congress. This clown's actions will result in more damage control in 2012.
TURBO TAX TIMMY runs the Treasury like his own personal finances. After all it's only OPM (other peoples money) and he only cares about the Timmy and BHO adoration. Kick the crap to the curb time and flush it into the sewers oh that's an EPA violation!
And hopefully YOU understand that the Wall Street bailouts began under Bush. Obama and both party leaders just continued to prop up the robber barons. Hopefully you understand that the job losses began in early 2007. Geithner is a Federal Reserve lackey.
Hi, first I am really sorry that my host Scott_Z wastes everyones time on here, Scott_Z is a hard person to live with, especially when you are forced to watch the things he does, some of them are pretty grotesque. I really hate "Ladies" night, it has a whole different meaning than what you would expect.
As bad as it is to have to listen to his nonsense, imagine what it's like to live inside of his head, oh sure there is plenty of room in here, but it's dark and drafty most of time, and the echo in hear is terrible.
He doesnt use me much anymore, so from time to time I will try and sneek out and give you a report on what's been really going on inside his head. Oh crap I hear the fax machine beeping, that means his daily kos and media matters talking points have arrived, oh god he is waking up, I have to go.
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We aren't treading water.
We are drowning in a sea of red ink and devalued currency. Just wait until inflation catches up.
what people do not realize, is that the paradigm has shifted, and we are on the outside looking in. We are no longer a manufacturing or industrial society. The new economy is one of paper pushing, financial management, managing intangibles, hence to push for Cap and Trade. We are in te middle of a Black Swan event, that will last the rest of our lifetimes, and the world will never operate in a manner that we are accoustomed to. What we are currently experiencing, as akin to the transition from the horse, to the horseless carriage; from kerosene lamps to the incandescent light bulb.
NOBODY knows what is going to happen, but guaranteed, it won't be pretty………..
Now that was humorous………
Hopefully you understand that the bailouts were accelerated under Obama and the unemployment rate has almost doubled under Obama. If you've got nothing but rote liberal talking points then you have nothing to contribute.
Geithner is mentally lost. The economy is not only worse, it accelerated decline after Obama was sworn in.
The only thing this squad has been successful at is tanking the country. I still am be-fuddled that a group of people who have never done anything of real value can be in a position of running the country, while those who make the country successful continue to be punished. I feel like I'm living in Bizzaro World.
Tax cheat Geithner.
If the economy is better by all measures, why are federal tax receipts down so very much?
Other figures underscore the recession's impact: Individual income tax receipts are down 22 percent from a year ago. Remember Biden says income tax is voluntary. Companies withhold taxes from payroll and it is dowmn. That means they have much lower payroll.
I'm no big fan of Geithner, but I would hesitate to condemn him too much. Honestly, I doubt he has much say in what is going on. I recall a piece Charlie Gasparino wrote a month or two back, saying that Summers, Volker, and even Geithner were complaining that they were being shut out on policy issues. Really made sense too, considering the ideology and arrogance of his boss. The administration, of which Geithner is only a part, is committed to "wealth redistribution." This travesty comes from the top.
You know, you could overdub "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" and it would be about right.
The reorganization of labor and capital will take years. A bit premature to say things are "better". It would be more accurate to say that last year the inevitable losses were finally realized — but there will be many more such losses in the near future as interest rates increase and more foreclosures displace more folks. The bubble hasn't fully shaken-out, so it's way too early to expect a sustainable upward trend anytime on Obama's watch. I don't think he'll be in power long enough to watch that happen.
Well JPA unfortunately I doubt YOU can figure out that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Ried took congress in 2006 and began destroying the economy shortly thereafter!! With the addition of Odumbo the communist their failure is right on track to wipe out what's left of the Constitution.
None of the communists can figure out that things began to collapse as soon as the Democrats/communists took over and stopped all the reforms Bush was trying to implement.
Our dear reader’s entire administration is turning into one big “you lie”.
Meanwhile, the foreclosure rates of once ‘good loans’ for the first time ever, exceeds sub-prime foreclosures.
Oh yeah, kinda like "unbirthday" I get it!
what is the unemployment rate now?
thank u
exactly my point…it should b steady then not getting worse
i agree 100%
n many others with him
more like stupid too
How in world tax cheat GEITNER continues to stay in office is a mystery (just ask Tom Daschle). Massive government spending (AIG, Gov sponsored health insurance, GM, etc.) will not heal the economy. I'm very concerned about the implications of such huge spending on our future. We now have so much debt all we do is write checks for interest payments to the Chinese Government. All you losers producing crappy cars at GM will soon have your checks signed by someone in China too. Too bad we don't have a leader like Reagan to put his foot down and get things in order.
The governments numer is 10.5%.
The actual number is 17.5%
This factors in a whole set of sub-numbers in the Black Community, ranging from 25%-50% depending on which city you look at. FIFTY PER CENT unemployment is comparable to Palestine……..
JEM all great points!!!
But to add to that- Sm biz can't buy more inventory because they can't get inventory finance credit to do so…nor can they get end user financing to move the product out because banks ARE NOT DOING BUSINESS INVENTORY OR CONSUMER FINANCE! The Banks (tarp takers) instead have this money aboard at a zero cost basis from fed invested in 5% return on foreign bonds. That's why sm biz can't hire or expand all they can do is manage to sell cash to cash transactions. In my old industry there is a 40% increase in customers who can't get inventory or end user finance, and who only a year or so ago that was never a problem. It’s killed the industry.
A good example is that in the real estate market normally 15% of the transactions are cash purchases in Orlando Fl so far this year 48% of the transactions are cash…because you can’t get financing to make the purchase.
Oh, did I leave that one out. Thanks.
This whole crash was caused by a democrat congress (and a republican party that is to corrupt or stupid the take on the Lawyers party) intent on taking the white house at any cost the American middle class was just the chump to play. The whole housing crisis has been faked, the delinquency rate on home mortgages was 3-5% it’s now 8-10%. In a normally regulated market this loss ratio would be dealt with by increasing home lending rates and improving underwriting guidelines. We had a failure because democrats wanted to slow the economy and take control of the presidency. Look at the cost to our nation for their “plan”. Add this and their corruption cost together and their power play could cost us our Republic!
Add to this the "elephant in the room" which is the reduced tax revenue that the govt will collect next year and you have a real mega-disaster. Think about this: the real unemployment rate is about 20% I paid $40K in taxes last year, lost my job and will pay about $8K this year. Many of the job losses in this economy has been with high wage earners, this will result in a incoming tax revenue bust like we haven't seen. Middle class taxes will increase it's just by how much and how soon!
Vote out every incumbent, impose term limits, root out and imprison the corrupt gov’t bureaucrats and politicians and in a 6-10 years we can restore the Republic!
Timothy"tax cheat"Geitner lives in lala land because the way he figures it if you can get away with not paying your taxes for four years and then your dear and glorious leader Barak Obama puts you in charge of the IRS;well I can see why he sees the country different than the rest of us.
It has nothing to do with legitimate facts or figures which he's obviously not very good with.
Mr. Geithner was able to get in the dig on what this poor administration inherited. No one that makes this comment seems to know that Congress for the last two of those eight years was run by Democrats. Democrats that got in on a platform of transparency, pork cleanup and draining the swap of the ethics problems and my true favorite- pay go. Now that last one is a term you haven't heard in awhile and the other three have all gotten WORSE. Never mind that this Administration has a lot of plans and alot of summits and they are clearly great talkers but somehow all there hard work and grandiose ideas don't seem to be making the Country better. To top it all off in the last week they have become fiscally concerned about our debt- no word yet on when they will cut back on spending though. And our freedoms and liberty……………HA!
It's time to wake up America- these folks running the show have got a plan alright and if we don't wake up and take this Country back soon, we are going to be at the back of the bus and be told to shut up and enjoy the ride……..right over the cliff.
The best part about this is that this was part of the JEC asking Mr. Geithner to STEP DOWN…I wonder why Biggovernment didn't play the whole thing…
Cowboy.. I think sandbox monitor kinda fits his abilities… What a wimpy character…
So, calling Geithner a Fed lackey is a liberal talking point? My only point was that these problems are a bipartisan one. Trust me, I'm disappointed in Obama for continuing the status quo of propping up the Wall Street robber baron economy. But even Rush/Fox News-bots have to know that the economy is not in control of a single person. The Treasury and the Fed private banking cartel do not take all their direction from the president.
Please spare me the frivolous cliches. Wrapping up the economic problems in a little box of "the Democrats did it" is about the most shallow, useless talking point I've heard.
Voting out corrupt politicians…who are you kidding? What test are we going to use to determine that? We need more leverage through the Constitution using terms like "Congress shall post every bill on the internet for 96 hours before a bill may be released for a vote, with each page over 100 adding an additional hour to the time posted". Maybe then we wouldn't have to wonder if it's still a democracy when bills have 'phantom' amendments attached after going through committee!
We are all going to have to get together here to invent some new words and phrases to describe the corrupt chicanery these traitors are forcing on the American people. Evil, revulsive, corrupt, incompetent, idiotic, moronic, imbecilic, seditious, traitorous, repulsive, cancerous and America hating just don't have the effect they used to have. Even tried a thesaurus…. HELP ME !
Is little TImmy of the belief that government jobs stimulate the economy? Can someone inform him that only the private sector stimulates the economy? That without private sector growth, a lot of government workers will either be laid off or Timmy will have to go into Bambi's stash and start printing more money. Perhaps they can issue IOU's to all those government workers and union members who are bankrupting our states.
My sister's worked a part-time job for a year and doesn't get a week's vacation yet, but she knows someone who is unionized and works in the school library just 12 hours a week. The woman's been at the job for only 6 months, yet she's already entitled to 10 vacation days and 10 sick days. Even the woman thinks it's excessive.
With a little more job experience, Bambi can become night manager at a McDonald's. Maybe he and Timmy can work the same shift at the same franchise. They can compare notes.
Little Timmy is a regulator who has admitted to having no banking experience.
Seriously, Jacey (assuming you are a woman). Aren't you gals getting a little tired of these effeminate metrosexual type of males ? Who bred these semi-men ? I mean…..look at the way Obamapuss bends over every time he is with a more powerful male figure. I have visions of Michelle standing…..naw…. better not state it here. ahhahahahahaha. Hell, PALIN has more "brass" in her little toe.
Just think of Odumbo as Robert Mugabe's younger brother who is trying to turn the US into Zimbabwe of the West. I hear that Mugabe has acquired his own personal "stash" while the former bread basket of Africa is now begging for relief.
Actually as far as the stock market is concerned, when the dollar is weighed against the price of gold, the market has actually gone down … Peter Schiff explains: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAR0xbZg13k
Bingo! Odumbo's handlers caused a "crisis" to put their boy in power at any cost. Don't forget the run at the banks in mid-September '08 to sway the election in Odumbo's favor. He was losing by 3 points at that time. Due to the popularity of Sarah Palin, the Dems went on the attack to destroy her and then pulled their October surprise a month earlier.
Unemployment is right now at 10.2%, just so everyone knows, the unemployment rate under George W. Bush was under 6% for 83 of his 96 months in office…..
Timmy's hair is now making him say things
[...] Big Government: Apparently, “any measurement” doesn’t include the unemployment rate, job growth, number of jobs, wage growth, hours worked, home foreclosures, rate of mortgage delinquencies, etc. [...]
[...] Big Government: Apparently, “any measurement” doesn’t include the unemployment rate, job growth, number of jobs, wage growth, hours worked, home foreclosures, rate of mortgage delinquencies, etc. [...]
[...] Big Government: Apparently, “any measurement” doesn’t include the unemployment rate, job growth, number of jobs, wage growth, hours worked, home foreclosures, rate of mortgage delinquencies, etc. [...]
How is it that so many criminals in Washington are trying to tell us what to do?? They can't even get the figures right!! Did he ever mention what planet he came from???
Yeah, the economy is better alright. That's why Goldman Sachs has shorted AIG, Wells Fargo, Mastercard and PNC stocks. Because your old cronies at GS are betting AGAINST OUR ECONOMY, you moron!!!
Obama's policies summed up: Steal as much as possible, as quickly as possible, from those who earn it to those who burn it!
This year's pile of excrement is better than last year's pile of excrement. Your a genius Timmy.
This is the mantra of this deplorable administration; "Who are you going to believe, Obama or your lying eyes?"
Page 1,802 of the health care bill. They're not covered though.
To quote Rep Joe Wilson R (SC) "YOU LIE" Tim.
What "began" under Bush can almost certainly be stopped by this administration. Let's look at the things that Bush started that this administration has stopped:
1. Gitmo
2. Military tribunals for the most horrific of the Gitmo detainees.
3. Photographing our dead soldiers upon arrival home (without consent of the family) Bush said no, Obama says yes.
4. Waterboarding. A useful tool in interrogation. And if you don't think so, then I hope the next terrorist attack consumes you.
I could go on….
The Rush/Fox News bots you so decry are very well aware that the economy of this great nation is not in the control of a single person. Not yet anyway. But, the current administration has already taken over the automotive industry, is on the verge of taking over the health care industry and has in its' crosshairs the energy and internet industry. After all of that, what, exactly is left? What remains to mount an opposition?
The Rush/Fox News-bots you decry know that the USA economy is not in control of a single person. We also know that the DOW, NASDAQ and rest of the markets are extremely reactionary. Any twitch from the administration will affect the markets.
By the way, the Treasury and the Fed are arms of THE US GOVERNMENT. They are not entities operating for their own benefit. They do not answer to shareholders and a board of directors. They only benefit when the federal government benefits and vice-versa. It is a symbiotic relationship at best.
Get a grip.
I warned you not to stop taking those meds! Oh Oh, your setting the example for the runup to ObamaCare!
I for one have lost confidence in Geithner's ability to do the job. Everything this guy touches falls apart. TARP and Cash4Clunkers have completely backfired (see http://www.repofinder.com). He should pursue a new career as a magician, because he's good at making money disappear.
[...] Обама вернулся из Азии с пустыми руками. Совсем. Единственное его достижение – поясной поклон, который он отвесил микадо. Больше ему показать нечего. Ни из Китая, ни из Японии или Кореи он ничего внятного не привез, хотя надо было. Приехав домой, Обама обнаружил, что рейтинг у него ушел ниже 50% – теперь не только по Рассмуссену, но и по Quinnipiaс, не говоря уже про Фокс. Первый его год завершился отнюдь не в его пользу. Единственная пока удача – продавленный в самом начале стимулус, который по прошествии времени представляется уже не удачей, а жесточайшим провалом. Безработица растет гораздо быстрее предсказанной, и Гейтнер, давая в Сенате объяснения текущей ситуации, выглядел далеко не лучшим образом. [...]
What can anyone really say? This is a guy who could not do his own taxes correctly. I mean, really. He has no business being in his position.
OK, scanned the comments thus far, don't see this question posed yet: "GEITHNER, WHAT YOU BEEN SMOKING?" But seriously, he's PAID by his boss, Barack Hussein Obama, MMM MMM MMM, to say that nonsense……..
Re 'stimulus' and Keynesian flimflam: an excellent article last week, maybe in Financial Times (can't remember), demonstrated with facts on the ground how, contrary to the promises of th WH and the likes of Krugman, the Porkulus flooded the capital markets with cheap Federal paper and sucked the liquidity out of them. Result- business contraction and job loss.
….and the world is more at peace today than in one hundred years, too!!!
Seven Million missing jobs, all thanks to your government’s expansion.
My back of the napkin calculations after three sudsy beverages shows that the extreme growth of government spending as a percent of GDP may have cost the U.S. taxpayer 7.5 million jobs from 1993 until 2008.
But, of course, the solution to our economic woes is more government spending. I mean, as a percent of GDP it will only be 45% of GDP this year when you count federal, state, and local largesse. I just saw an image of Fidel Castro in the head of my beer, I think I might faint.
For more see:
http://thanksforthelaughs.wordpress.com/2009/11/2...
Lazy Jack
Geithner fails to instill confidence. Every time I see him, the first thought I have is of an adolescent twerp who gets caught pleasing himself, or perhaps cheating on a test. My second thought is always Eddie Haskel…..getting caught pleasing himself or cheating on a test.
Re: someone's question about the unemployment rate… 10.2% nationwide AVERAGE. Keep in mind that some states – Florida, Ohio, Michigan, California are significantly higher. Also keep in mind that the official "unemployment rate" does not include those who have given up looking for work AND those who are now working only part-time due to the recession.
[...] Geithner: Economy Is Better By Any Measurement [...]
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