Official: Paulson’s Response to Economic Meltdown Was Haphazard
EmailABC’s Tom Shine from Washington:
Washington Post reporter Binyamin Appelbaum says a former Treasury department official in the Bush administration claims when the economy came tumbling down, the administration’s response was a mess. According to Appelbaum, former senior adviser to then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Phillip Swagel, charges that the government’s response to the financial crisis was hamstrung by "Chronic Disorganization…a Broadly Haphazard Policy Process…and sometimes strained relations between Treasury and the White House."
He says back in March of 2008 the department was considering a plan to buy troubled assets from banks and went through a dozen drafts of a proposal over the next several months. But according to the article, Treasury, instead of acting quickly waited, convinced Congress would reject such a plan until Paulson and Bernanke could convince them that the, "crisis was on the doorstep…by then it was too late."
Swagel says, "much of the rhetoric in favor of foreclosure prevention was bluster intended to conceal a dearth of options." He says the three page TARP Blueprint presented to Congress was "a communications mistake," and adds Treasury lacked the power it needed.
According to the article Swagel claims there were two major failures: Foresight and salesmanship. He says the Obama administration has continued the policies devised under Paulson but "cloaks them in populist rhetoric."
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All together gang….1,2,3 “ITS ALL BUSH”S FAULT”.
Now doesn’t that make you feel better?
Posted by: david | April 3, 2009, 11:19 am 11:19 am
well, at least Paulson got his own $36,000,000 (or was it 38?) golden parachute when he left Wall Street.
Posted by: helpless voter | April 3, 2009, 1:54 pm 1:54 pm
David I feel sorry for you if stating that really makes you feel better. There are many people to blame, so if you really want to blame someone, do your homework and find out where it all started. But instead of everyone wasting time trying to blame people, why don’t we try to find a viable solution that will not put our great country further into debt.
Posted by: tfromtexas | April 3, 2009, 2:07 pm 2:07 pm
tfromtexas: I think david was being satarical when he said: “All together gang….1,2,3 “ITS ALL BUSH”S FAULT”.
Now doesn’t that make you feel better?”
I too am tired of hearing the whining from the Democrats. They are forgetting that they are/were part of the administration in 2007, 2008 up to today and WHAT WERE THEY DOING? Obviously not their jobs as exhibited by the mess we are currently in. I am also tired of the current administration spending money we do not have, leaving the middle class to pick up the tab and not joining the taxpayer in tightening their belts. I say we the taxpayer should have an accounting from every member of Congress, their staffs, the President and Vice President as to where they have cut back in the past year and to date to determine in fact if they are SHARING OUR PAIN. My guess is that they are not, they are spending as usual since we the taxpayer are picking up the tab. With the rising unemployment, extended unemployment benefits their income tax income is going to become smaller and smaller and the government will be like General Motors; taking in 650 million a month but having legacy debts of $1 million (numbers for example only not verified as true) not to mention future commitments and other current expenses. Will we then say the same thing to President Obama as he said to Wagoner? You must step down. I truly hope so. And will President Obama step down in the best interests of the country, I dare say the answer is NO. As most politicians, President Obama doesn’t know how to put HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH HIS.
Did Michelle Obama get out there and plant her own vegetable garden like we must do? NO she hired someone….God forbid she get her hands dirty. I don’t think she will be weeding the garden either. How much money are they paying the people to tend their garden and would it have been cheaper to simply go to the market.
The Democrats spending plans have no long term advantage.
Is Michelle Obama giving up her clothing allowance and using her old clothes? For that matter is the President doing the same thing?
Did the President cut back on the heating expenses and wear a sweater? Did he pay out of HIS POCKET the cost to keep the White House at tropical temperatures, after all he supposedly comes from Hawaii but has lived in the harsh winter states for how long????
Did he pay for Air Force One out of HIS OWN POCKET to take his wife to Chicago for dinner? Most taxpayers could not even afford to go out for dinner let alone fly across the country. Oh, that’s right, the taxpayer paid!!!!
I agree with tfromtexas, the only thing our elected officials are doing is pointing the finger at everyone else instead of leading by example and working to get the country out of this mess. I guess we will have to exercise our right to vote everyone out of office including the option of impeachment if our elected officials do not step up to the plate and do what the taxpayers are paying them well to do.
Posted by: amIsurprised | April 3, 2009, 3:20 pm 3:20 pm
HAPHAZARD! Like Katrina, it was a non-response. The Republicans and the Democrats pretended to respond but did nothing worthwhile. Isn’t that exactly what we expected? Both parties pretend to disagree but in the end they allowed Paulson and Bernanke to do what they wanted–waste taxpayer dollars. Jointly, our irresponsible members of Congress were supposed to come up with a transparent plan on how taxpayers dollars would be spent. It was to include STRICT OVERSIGHT over the actions of Paulson and Bernanke. The plan was to include CAPS on the pay of CEOs, remember that, and provisions to HELP FAMILIES who were in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. All this BEFORE handing over trillions of dollars to a bunch of incompetent, unethical loosers. Consumer groups had been sounding the warning bells since 2000. But Congress chose to look the other way and NOT exercise any authority over Wall Street and the banks. Who is picking up the tab and cleaning the mess created by an incompetent, unethical and non-working Congress—the taxpayer.
Posted by: Ann M. | April 3, 2009, 4:08 pm 4:08 pm
You guys are jealous and you hate to admit that it took someone smart like President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama (who is Harvard educated),to bring,grace,style, and a realness to the white house, give us back our respect and do something to get us out of this mess we been in for the past 8 years with 2 wars. Who you think is footing the bills. Stop hating. if you wanting to fix the country so bad, why did you folks run for oiffice?
Posted by: michhajam1974 | April 4, 2009, 8:00 am 8:00 am
Stop hating
and do something to help make the world a better place and realize that everyone has a right to live in this world that God created and not man
Posted by: michhajam1974 | April 4, 2009, 8:08 am 8:08 am
Obama is my president now and I’ll back
him all I can. I’ll just pray that he
and God can straighten this thing out.
We’ve all gotten outselves in a mess with out extravagant spending. We’ve
spoiled our children and now they have
to pay for it. Let’s just all pray
for our nation and quit criticizing.
overspent
Posted by: jean cooper | April 5, 2009, 5:36 pm 5:36 pm
No one is hating anyone. We are simply requesting our elected government officials, their staffs and appointees stop playing the blame game and do the jobs they were hired to do. Whether one is a Harvard grad or a graduate from a state college makes no difference to me. The current President and first lady are not saints, they are human. What allows me to hold them to a higher standard than others is THEIR assertions that THEY ARE BETTER than others and can do a better job than their predecessors. So please do not down play our observations by attempting to say we hate the current President. I personally would love him to be successful because then I am successful. But his failure as well as the failure of our elected officials fall on our, the taxpayer’s backs, not theirs. They still collect their generous salaries, healthcare benefits and pension benefits while the taxpayer starves and is homeless.
Posted by: amIsurprised | April 6, 2009, 4:15 pm 4:15 pm
Even though a old subject for discussions,I am pained to say sales and profits of world no one,very old American newspaper,New York Times sales and profits are dropped.
Now a days, many educated,youngsters,students have started using net services for news reading,getting education,film materials by on line.
I hope that,these recent changes are not static,bound for further changes.
I wish that,all newspapers,magazines should reduce their prices,and go forward of reporting the latests,vital events for everybody!s progress.
One thing is certain.
Pen is mightier than weapon.
Posted by: bngpatsy | June 20, 2009, 1:27 am 1:27 am