When Geithner “Won”
March 18th, 2009 by 2CDC
by Josh Orton, Wed Mar 18, 2009 at MyDD
Remember this?
The New York Times
February 10, 2009
Geithner Said to Have Prevailed on the Bailout
By STEPHEN LABATON and EDMUND L. ANDREWS
WASHINGTON– The Obama administration’s new plan to bail out the nation’s banks was fashioned after a spirited internal debate that pitted the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, against some of the president’s top political hands.
In the end, Mr. Geithner largely prevailed in opposing tougher conditions on financial institutions that were sought by presidential aides, including David Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president, according to administration and Congressional officials.
Mr. Geithner, who will announce the broad outlines of the plan on Tuesday, successfully fought against more severe limits on executive pay for companies receiving government aid.
He resisted those who wanted to dictate how banks would spend their rescue money. And he prevailed over top administration aides who wanted to replace bank executives and wipe out shareholders at institutions receiving aid.
I remember talking with Sam Seder about this story when it first came out, and both of us agreed that this subtle framing of Geithner’s position was intentional - that some in the White House foresaw serious political (if not policy) problems with Geithner’s approach and wanted to get ownership of the policy on the record.
Category: Economy, Labor, Tax | Comments Off
