Timmmmay!!!!!!!

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says it is clear that the government could have done more to prevent the economic downfall.

In prepared testimony, Geithner says that gaps and weaknesses in the regulatory framework governing banks and other financial institutions "presented challenges" to the government's ability to monitor and address risky market bets.

One problem, he says, is that no single regulator saw its job as protecting the economy and financial system as a whole.

The administration's plan, which Geithner outlined Thursday before the Senate Banking Committee, calls for the Federal Reserve to do that job supported by a new council of regulators.

Meanwhile...sane people are aware of the fact that tax cheat, Geithner...had and has no idea what he's doing. So inept was his application that the White House couldn't get anyone to work with him. The Bail Out Bonanza was the improper response to the problem. It was applied ineptly, and abused by Congress as they threw tax payer money at their own pet projects.

In short, Geithner says we should have done more. Individuals with an understanding of the market and capitalism know we should have done less. Then again, the current administration is not interested in a strong market or capitalism.

Goose...meet the Gander...

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Wednesday appointed a compensation czar who will have broad discretion to set the pay for 175 top executives at seven of the nation’s largest companies, which received hundreds of billions of dollars in federal assistance to survive.

The mandate given to the new compensation official, Kenneth R. Feinberg, a well-known Washington lawyer, reflects the federal government’s increasingly intrusive role in the corporate affairs of deeply troubled companies. From his nondescript office in Room 1310 of the Treasury building, Mr. Feinberg will set the salaries and bonuses of some of the top corporate executives in America, including Kenneth Lewis, the chief executive of Bank of America; Vikram Pandit, the head of Citigroup, and Fritz Henderson, the chief executive of General Motors.

Please...please...please...someone with a signficant amount of their own expendable income laying around start a movement that places referendum votes in all 50 states that ties performance of elected politicians to their salaries. If there is a deficit, they receive no pay (and perhaps penalties in the form of taxes that will encourage constituents to fire their voluminous asses). If they balance the budget, we will provide performance driven salaries reflective of the result. The Fed has set the precedent. Let's apply it properly.

Home Improvements in addition to the mortgage...

Caulking and sealing. Insulation in the walls and the attic. An upgraded furnace. Perhaps even a new refrigerator.

Energy-saving home improvements - that's how the federal stimulus program will first be felt by tens of thousands of low-income American families.

About 30,000 homes in Pennsylvania and 13,000 in New Jersey will benefit from $5 billion that Congress has allotted nationally for weatherization work.

Pennsylvania will get $253 million and New Jersey will get $119 million under a supercharged expansion of a 33-year-old program that was first meant to help the nation cope with the Arab oil embargo and high energy prices of the 1970s.

And you just thought that you were paying for their mortgage. What a hard nosed callous person you are. You're giving them a new fridge and fixing up the residence, too.

Distraction alert...

WASHINGTON — A government watchdog has launched "almost 20" criminal investigations related to the $700 billion financial bailout program, according to a report to Congress to be released Tuesday.

Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the rescue program, says in the report that the probes involve possible public corruption; corporate, stock and tax fraud; insider trading; and mortgage fraud. Barofsky provided no information on who is being investigated or why, saying details will not be released "until public action is taken."

How about a legitimate probe to determine the actual cause of the perceived necessity to initiated a bail out in the first place.

We would prefer a probe that doesn't include Jamie Gorelick on the panel. We would, also, prefer a probe that doesn't include any of the officials who propogated the sub-prime toxic tort fiasco in the second place. That leaves out the Barney Frank's, Harry Reid's, Nancy Pelosi's and the entire Clinton Administration. It also leaves out the current President of the United States.

Story time...(Robin Hood)

Producer (Brian Grazer) of yet another remake of Robin Hood (sorry, you'll never top "The Adventures of Robin Hood"-1938- Flynn, de Havilland, Rathbone, Raines...)-

"Oddly, it's a metaphor for today," Grazer says. "He's trying to create equality in a world where there are a lot of injustices. He's a crusader for the people, trying to reclaim some of the ill-gotten gains of the wealthy. That's a universal theme."

Uhhh...no, Brian. Robin Hood was a crusader for the people against the out of control government (Prince John) and his runaway taxes to support his luxurious lifestyle, and those of this politically connected cronies.

So, yes, you could make the argument that it is a metaphor for today. Although, the term "metaphor" likely does not apply. It is more an irony or a coincidence. Whatever the term, the fact remains that President Obama serves well as "Prince John" in that the common unwashed will pay the bill for the wanton spending of a "bail out" he imposed at the behest of his cronies within the Congress (the Nobles). Eric Holder (the Sheriff of Nottingham) thinks us cowards. We shall see.

I do recall how Robin Hood ends. King Richard (arguably a Conservative) returns from kicking ass and taking hyphenated names in the Middle East.

Will he receive the same scrutiny?

About 24 hours ago, the International Herald Tribune (the New York Times' red-headed stepchild abroad) took a shot at George W. Bush in reference to signing statements.

President Obama stated he would use signing statements sparingly under the following circumstances:

"Particularly since omnibus bills have become prevalent, signing statements have often been used to ensure that concerns about the constitutionality of discrete statutory provisions do not require a veto of the entire legislation."

Now, don't get me wrong. I believe the use of signing statements has solid purpose. It is a indiscriminate "line item veto" to some extent. And, I fully support the use of the signing statement in limitation of the "pork" attached to this latest handout (Omnibus chum).

Obama Makes Use of Signing Statements

However, the earmarks were not issues of constitutionality. So, I believe our current president has made up a portion of the astoundingly voluminous learning curve in this regard. Still, I'm willing to bet that he still has the DOJ reviewing the previous president's signing statements.

I have two questions:

1. Can we expect the NY Times and the International Herald Tribune to call President Obama on the carpet after showing President Bush in a negative light for the same application of signing statements less than 24 hours ago?

2. Will the American Bar Association come out and criticize President Obama's use of signing statements after claiming that previous presidents (including Bush, Bush and Reagan) abused this practice and should not be available to the President?

Holding breath like Michael Hutchence ...

Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you...

DETROIT (AP) — Negotiators for the United Auto Workers walked out of concession talks with General Motors Corp. Friday night in a dispute over payments to a union-administered retiree health care fund, a person briefed on the talks said Saturday. The breakdown comes at a critical time as GM races against a Tuesday deadline to submit a plan to the government showing how it can become viable.

The Detroit-based auto giant is living on $9.4 billion in government loans, and the Treasury Department must approve its viability plan for GM to get $4 billion more. Chrysler LLC, which has received $4 billion in government loans and wants an additional $3 billion, faces the same deadline.

At GM, UAW negotiators walked away because the company made demands that were "detrimental to retirees and the ability to provide health care," according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Unions...gotta love their brash inability to grasp the obvious and the inevitable. The UAW turned their back because "the company made demands that were detrimental to retirees." So, instead of offering concession for the prolonged existence of their employer, they are perfectly content to apply the "scorched Earth" approach. Surely, they don't think they have negotiating leverage. And, why is the management even entertaining a negotiation. They finally have the leverage to say "either you accept this plan...or you start sending out resumes...because we are finished..."

It's all reminiscent of the scene from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." They are wedged on the side of a cliff. The posse is closing in, and their only viable option is to jump to a precarious looking river way below.

Butch Cassidy: Then you jump first.
Sundance Kid: No, I said.
Butch Cassidy: What's the matter with you?
Sundance Kid: I can't swim.
Butch Cassidy: Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.