Tim Geithner is over in Europe speaking to members of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European political leaders, telling them that they need to take immediate and significant action to reduce the risk of default on their sovereign obligations. Essentially, we're telling them that they need to cut government spending and increase taxes in order to avoid the risk of default on debt securities issued by European countries.

"The threat of cascading default, bank runs, and catastrophic risk must be taken off the table, as otherwise it will undermine all other efforts, both within Europe and globally," U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a speech before the IMF. The U.S. Treasury is trying to convince Europe to respond to the crisis with a "shock-and-awe" strategy. Washington believes a major increase in the effective size the euro zone bailout fund would finally put market fears to rest.

This is so ridiculous it's almost laughable. God bless Geithner for trying, but why should anyone listen to him? Why should any of the European politicians or financial types listen to us? For crying out loud, the United States is the largest debtor nation on the planet and has shown absolutely no political will to either reduce spending, balance our budget, reduce entitlements, or support either our currency or our debt in any meaningful way.

I don't know if it's the proper metaphor, but isn't the very, very blackened pot trying to convince the kettle to clean itself up?

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

.......For crying out loud, the United States is the largest debtor nation on the planet and has shown absolutely no political will to either reduce spending, balance our budget, reduce entitlements, or support either our currency or our debt in any meaningful way.

I don't know if it's the proper metaphor, but isn't the very, very blackened pot trying to convince the kettle to clean itself up?

This is what many of us have been saying since Obama chose Geithner the tax cheat. But we were mocked and told everything Obama does is golden. We knew this a long time ago....that we were being made into a laughingstock of a nation.

Originally Posted by ilovetv

This is what many of us have been saying since Obama chose Geithner the tax cheat. But we were mocked and told everything Obama does is golden. We knew this a long time ago....that we were being made into a laughingstock of a nation.

Yes, you are right. Nobody listened. Just like nobody listened when they were told that Obama's preacher of 19 years was a racist.

Poor vg...No One listened to him...Whyyyyyyyyine

Originally Posted by hrp01

Poor vg...No One listened to him...Whyyyyyyyyine

Again you address other posters and do not add anything to the mix.

I think we are heading to a world collapse. The markets are unsteady and every Nation is deep in debt. China wins.

and you keep on the prsonal attacks when someone sees different from you...Too bad...My tea party right winger

Originally Posted by hrp01

and you keep on the prsonal attacks when someone sees different from you...Too bad...My tea party right winger

You addressed me first. Why can't you just stay on topic without getting personal?
Post number 4 is your personal attack towards me.

I have never been personal till I was attacked by you and your pal after I said something negative about the tea party,and I even tried to be reasonable with you two...I didn't draw first blood but I will not be intimidated...

Originally Posted by hrp01

I have never been personal till I was attacked by you and your pal after I said something negative about the tea party,and I even tried to be reasonable with you two...I didn't draw first blood but I will not be intimidated...

Sorry, but you will have to go back awhile before you see me attacking anyone. I took the warning from the moderator seriously. I double and triple read everything I write because I do not want anymore warnings.

This is juvenile :

Poor vg...No One listened to him...Whyyyyyyyyine

Both of you need to take a break. Maybe the mods of the forum need to give you both a couple weeks to cool off. Either add something positive to the discussion or try really hard to keep your fingers off the keyboard. Remember, don't say anything on the board that you would be be willing to say face to face. It is getting boring what the two of you are doing. Go a head flame me for I will just ignore you both and your posts from now on.

Now, Geither, telling Europe and the IMF anything is the biggest joke of the century. He can't even pay his own taxes. What he is most likely doing is telling them how to stop paying taxes and how to cheat on their tax forms when they get caught and how to get a top level government job by not paying taxes. Sounds like a great scheme to me, maybe we all should try it.

The solution to europe's problem is to reverse what caused its problem.

Simply stated Europe's governments hijacked 50% of their GDP. countries like Greece refused to fire governement workers while workers in their private sector (wealth producing) are falling by the wayside.

Here our problem is one of expectations. Businesses are sitting on troves of money but Team Obama has created an unfavorable business environment and has created uncertainty.

How can a business agree to invest in labor and raw materials with this uncertainty in the forms of higher taxes, environmrnt and business regulations that are strangling the very existence of business and the threat of ObamaCare.

One businessman said that in its current environment he has to hire two people to handle governement regulation complaince for every one person he hires for production.

I know that to be an honest estimate given Sarbanes-Oxley and now dodd-Frank.

America is going the way of Greece. today the only sector growing in america is the governement sector

I don't care who does it but we better focus on the private sector laying track for the private sector to grow this economy because governments do not promote growth

Regarding the original question, "Why should they listen to us?"......


WASHINGTON -- Timothy Geithner didn't pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for several years while he worked for the International Monetary Fund, and he employed an immigrant housekeeper who briefly lacked proper work papers.

Those issues, and a series of other tax matters, scuttled a tentatively scheduled confirmation hearing Tuesday for Mr. Geithner as Treasury secretary, Senate Finance Committee aides said. The tax matters were instead the subject of a closed-door meeting between the nominee, currently president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and members of the Senate Finance panel, in whose hands his confirmation lies.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123187503629378119.html

And still they confirmed him. What a joke our government is.

Originally Posted by Figmo Bohica

And still they confirmed him....

That's the point, isn't it? Geithner was confirmed and is serving as the chairman of our central bank, one of the most powerful financial positions in the world, if not the most powerful such position. The Europeans could care less whether he did or didn't file tax returns or whether he employed an undocumented domestic. Only American political partisans care about such things. In the current grand scheme of things those issues are totally irrelevant.

The more important message, I think, is that we have dispatched a very senior member of our current political administration to try to convince the Europeans to do things that we have been unable and unwilling to do ourselves. Our financial situation is at least a precarious as several of the European countries. And while the U.S. might be able to skate through for a bit more time if everything else in the world remains stable, a collapse of the European economies and banks would pull us into a vortex of worldwide economic collapse as well. It will happen very quickly. Watch how quickly your 401k's or investment portfolios lose a whole lot more value than has happened in the last couple of weeks. Watch what happens to our already too high unemployment rate. Be conscious of possible "run" on some of our weaker banks (read: Bank of America).

Now is not the time to be spouting partisan criticisms of individuals in our current administration. Now IS the time to be demanding from our elected representatives that the the things that need to be done actually get done to both stabilize our debt situation and provide leadership to the rest of the developed world. Entitlements need to be reduced and in some cases eliminated. Spending must be reduced dramatically. Our spending on defense will prpobably have to be cut in half. The tax code needs to be revised and simplified. And probably a well-designed program to increase federal revenues needs to be developed.

Otherwise, as I said in the title to the first post in this thread...why should they listen to us?

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

That's the point, isn't it? Geithner was confirmed and is serving as the chairman of our central bank, one of the most powerful financial positions in the world, if not the most powerful such position. The Europeans could care less whether he did or didn't file tax returns or whether he employed an undocumented domestic. Only American political partisans care about such things. In the current grand scheme of things those issues are totally irrelevant.

The more important message, I think, is that we have dispatched a very senior member of our current political administration to try to convince the Europeans to do things that we have been unable and unwilling to do ourselves. Our financial situation is at least a precarious as several of the European countries. .......

Otherwise, as I said in the title to the first post in this thread...why should they listen to us?

I beg to differ with the statements in bold above. In the current grand scheme of things, those issues ARE totally relevant to the European audience, because they know we have no credibility as long as the same people who confirmed a known tax cheat (or who is ignorant of how to comply with the tax code) are in Congress and the White House.

It's our credibility that give the Europeans and others reason to not "listen to us", NOT the fact that we have not reversed and perfected our financial problems.