Volcker: ‘Shameful’ That Treasury is Understaffed
EmailABC News’ Matt Jaffe reports:
Sounding off on hiring problems that we reported earlier this week, a leading economic adviser to President Obama today said it was "shameful" that the "weak" Treasury Department is so understaffed that Secretary Tim Geithner is "sitting there alone".
"There is an area that I think is, I don’t know, shameful is the word," Paul Volcker said this morning at a Joint Economic Committee hearing. "The Secretary of the Treasury is sitting there without a deputy, without any undersecretaries, without any, as far as I know, assistant secretaries responsible in substantive areas at a time of very severe crisis. He shouldn’t be sitting there alone."
Volcker is chair of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
"Now various things have contributed to this, I guess, inlcuding vetting procedures, but it really is an unfortunate situation."
Volcker, former chair of the Federal Reserve, said that the Treasury has been "weakened" in recent years.
"It deserves some attention and rebuilding and new strength," he said.
"You can’t be the leading economic power in the world with all the problems we have and have a weak Treasury," Volcker stated.
– Matt Jaffe
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Since the President is doing everything possible to make sure we are no longer the “leading economic power in the world” perhaps this is part of the plan.
Posted by: Plumber | February 26, 2009, 11:58 am 11:58 am
Here’s the Obama plan: “Blame Bush, and give a speech!” This will fix the problems at the Treasury Department.
Posted by: OxyCon | February 26, 2009, 12:01 pm 12:01 pm
I would think a lack of positions in the Treasury Department contributed, which would be a pre-existing condition. I couldn’t help but note a lack of attention and explanation in the report to the weakened conditions from the past.
Posted by: kat the real one | February 26, 2009, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
So, being that Volcker is chair of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board – why doesn’t he make this very suggestion to Obama instead of lamenting to the Press?
Didn’t he get the e-mail address?
Posted by: Baker | February 26, 2009, 12:03 pm 12:03 pm
jpt writes:
a leading economic adviser to President Obama today said it was “shameful” that the “weak” Treasury Department is so understaffed that Secretary Tim Geithner is “sitting there alone”.
What’s REALLY shameful is that Geithner IS Secretary of the Treasury. Having an army of underlings at the ready doesn’t seem to have helped Geithner OR Volcker in the past, but … there ARE still a few zillion unemployed finance guys out there left over from the crashes and mergers.
Everybody KNOWS this is nowhere.
Posted by: Human Intelligence | February 26, 2009, 12:08 pm 12:08 pm
The NeoCons would like to recommend their pal Phil Graham for a position on the staff.
Posted by: Clint | February 26, 2009, 12:18 pm 12:18 pm
Do more with less. That is the new calling across the board.
Posted by: Huh | February 26, 2009, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
Here comes the top advice from our Greatest Smartest Leader’s top economic advisor. Timely and Insightful.
Posted by: ket and bra | February 26, 2009, 1:08 pm 1:08 pm
The NeoCons would like to recommend their pal Phil Graham for a position on the staff.
*****************
I take it he could assist with the mortgage derivatives on the sub prime loans.
Posted by: kat the real one | February 26, 2009, 1:13 pm 1:13 pm
But Timothy Geithner is the most brilliant economist alive and the only man for the job–even though he can’t figure out TurboTax.
Geithner should be able to do it alone with his super powers.
Posted by: harry | February 26, 2009, 1:25 pm 1:25 pm
I’m sure people are dying to work for Obama–are there any left that aren’t tax cheats?
He only allows one on his cabinet.
Obama doesn’t want to be accused of having a double standard you know…
Posted by: harry | February 26, 2009, 1:29 pm 1:29 pm
Good help is hard to find.
Obama has such high standards.
And oh that extensive vetting process!
How could anyone pass except the most ethical. heeheeheeeee
Posted by: sammy | February 26, 2009, 1:37 pm 1:37 pm
Obama’s economic plan:
Criticize Wall Street for being irresponsible while he spends trillions on junk and robs the next generation.
Blame Bush for everything even though the Democrats controlled Congress since 2006–and Senator BO voted with Congress.
Posted by: riley | February 26, 2009, 1:43 pm 1:43 pm
I’m sure Geithner is doing just as well at treasury as he did at the Fed.
Posted by: mad | February 26, 2009, 2:30 pm 2:30 pm
Understaffed??? The problem is that thing that’s supposed to be the personnel office. Ever tried to get a Fed Job these days. If you’ve had any feedback consider yourself lucky.
My wife has two degrees, speaks English,Spanish,German,French,some Russian and is learning Urdu and Farsi and can’t even get a sniff at jobs in the Federal Government! So I’m not shocked treasury is understaffed.
Posted by: GetAClueUS | February 26, 2009, 2:43 pm 2:43 pm
Who says that Geithner has to staff the department the way that Volcker sees its structure? He’s not really in the cabinet. He doesn’t realize that yet.
Republicans are balking right now in cutting their enormous staffs on congressional hill. They talk reducing government waste, but oh no!, they need large staffs of people to do nothing but dress and complain to the press.
Posted by: Sunflower | February 26, 2009, 3:22 pm 3:22 pm
The Obama Administration needs some progressive economists
It seems to be filled up with Wall Street Econos
Where is Robert Reich ? Paul Krugman ?
Joseph Stieglitz ?
Actually, if Obama REALLY wants a ‘Team of Rivals’ he might pick Ralph Nader to advise on economic issues
Posted by: MSierra, SF | February 26, 2009, 4:00 pm 4:00 pm
Shouldn’t Skippy, Biff and Scooter and all the other RNC trolls be going all gaga over Michael Steele and Bobby J at CPAC instead of trolling here about how they miss that economic geeneeus George the Pet Goat? Oh, right, The Republican Mr. Rogers is off with his kids at Disneyworld. Uhuh. Such a powerful economic rebuttal the other night I could almost cry…with laughter!
Posted by: kovie | February 27, 2009, 7:18 am 7:18 am
Just look at the money being saved.
Posted by: Dot | February 27, 2009, 7:52 am 7:52 am
I have tried nearly a dozen avenues to see about working in the Treasury. I have what might be useful Wall Street experience, or then again, maybe it wouldn’t be what they want. I guess I will never know; I have not even received a “thank you for your inquiry” back. If I were a high school graduate from North Dakota e-mailing Jamie Dimon, the JP Morgan CEO, about a job, at least I would receive a reply.
Posted by: HireMe | February 27, 2009, 4:37 pm 4:37 pm