HELP WANTED! The sign at the U.S, Treasury is not the signs that one sees everywhere else. In an paradox, Timothy Geithner can't find anyone to work with him while everyone else seems to be laying people off. What's the story here or is there one?
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is practically alone on the job, working night and day to cope with the worst economic downturn in decades. But then with his reputation at the New York Fed who would want to be where lightning strikes? Why did Barack Obama pick him in the first place: lack of discernment maybe?
Of the 15 key Treasury Department positions that require Senate confirmation, only one has been filled. Stuart Levey, a leftover from the previous administration, who as under secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, is not central to the crisis management however.
Unemployment figures which revealed Friday that 651,000 jobs were lost in February, showed the recession is running ever deeper, but Geithner, who started work in late January, has no deputy secretary, no under secretaries for international affairs and no deputy under secretaries.
Annette Nazareth, who had been expected to be chosen as deputy secretary -- Geithner's top aide -- has withdrawn her name, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition, citing people familiar with the matter. The former Security Exchange Commission head withdrew in large part because of the long vetting process President Barack Obama has put in place to choose members of his government. Maybe they should add a qualification that nominess have paid their taxes!
Think maybe? :-(
Geithner's choice for undersecretary for international affairs, Caroline Atkinson, also took her name out of the running, only weeks ahead of the April 2, Group of 20 developed and developing nations summit in London. To help Geithner on international financial matters, Treasury has provisionally hired Ted Truman, an economist at the Peterson Institute of International Economics in Washington, according to a Treasury official. Truman was Geithner's assistant at Treasury when he served as under secretary for international affairs in the late 1990s.
The 47-year-old Geithner, a former head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was involved with the economic recovery efforts by President George W. Bush, but some experts think his plate may be too full this time. Obama's chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Christina Romer, told CNBC on Friday that Geithner "is putting together a team as fast as he can ... work is going on night and day."
Maybe he needs to clone himself. Wait! Maybe that's not such a good idea after all! :-)
Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve chairman and now head of the newly formed Economic Recovery Advisory Board, told a February 26 Congress hearing that it was "shameful" Geithner had no assistants. "He shouldn't be sitting there alone ... it really is an unfortunate situation." Then why is it so? One has to wonder, especially one Barack Obama!
