The Real Reason that Geithner is afraid of Elizabeth Warren

[Stuart G]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-r-talbott/the-real-reason-geithner_b_650403.html
Huffington Post

by John R Talbott

As reported on HuffPost last week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has expressed opposition to the possible nomination of Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a source with knowledge of Geithner's views.

One can assume that Geithner, being very close to the nation's biggest banks, is concerned that Warren, if chosen, will exercise her new policing and enforcement powers to restrict those abusive practices at our commercial banks that have been harmful to consumers and depositors.

Certainly, Warren is not the commercial banking industry's first pick to serve in this new role. And unlike other legislation in which an industry's lobbying effort would naturally slow or cease once the legislation is passed, the new financial reform bill is continuing to attract enormous lobbying action from the banks. The reason is simple. The bill has been written to put a great deal of power as to how strongly it is implemented in the hands of its regulators, some of which remain to be chosen. The bank lobby will work incredibly hard to see that Warren, the person most responsible for initiating and fighting for the idea of a consumer financial protection group, is denied the opportunity to head it.

But this is not the only reason that Geithner is opposed to Warren's nomination. I believe Geithner sees the appointment of Elizabeth Warren as a threat to the very scheme he has utilized to date to hide bank losses, thus keeping the banks solvent and out of bankruptcy court and their existing management teams employed and well-paid.

To see how this scheme works during the current crisis we must go back and examine previous crises and recessions in order to understand their cause......................................................

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I hope and pray that President Obama does the right thing here and supports Elizabeth Warren.

[Stuart G]

2. So do I............but I am very worried he will do the wrong thing . nt

[zipplewrath]

5. Not much upon which to base that hope

I'd be curious to hear what basis there would be any hope for such an appointment. I can't think of another appointment that would be similar. They never found work for Dean.

[Demeter]

8. Do the Right Thing and Fire And Prosecute Geithner

[Jefferson23]

3. How I wish Obama would get rid of Geithner and Summers, two schmucks. n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

4. Greedy, evil schmucks.

[Doctor_J]

6. Hartmann discussing this now

http://www.620kpoj.com/mediaplayer/?station=KPOJ-AM&action=listenlive&channel_title=

[TheWraith]

7. So we're still buying anonymous sources over the personal statements of all involved?

Sometimes I shake my head at the faith-based credulity of DU and the left-wing blogosphere when it comes to things that we think we want to hear.

[Sentath]

9. Ok, I'm stuck in an office,

Can you link me towards these statements? If they give the lie to the narrative above they are very important, but I don't have time to dig at the moment, sorry.

[TheWraith]

10. This was the quickest Google result I found:

"Given her strong leadership on consumer protection, Secretary Geithner believes that Elizabeth Warren is exceptionally well qualified to lead the new bureau, and, ultimately, that's a decision the president will have to make," Treasury spokesman Andrew Williams said.

Williams said Warren has been "a driving force behind the creation of the consumer financial protection bureau" that will be created as part of the financial regulation reform bill approved by Congress on Thursday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSWEN715320100716

[Jefferson23]

11. Until someone is confirmed, Geithner has a lot of control here:

Timothy Geithner's realm grows with passage of financial regulatory reform

By David Cho
Saturday, July 17, 2010; A01



Half a year after some predicted he would be booted from the Obama administration, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner stands to inherit vast power to shape bank regulations, oversee financial markets and create a consumer protection agency.

Few Treasury secretaries have had such sweeping influence over such a wide realm as Geithner will wield once President Obama signs the new financial overhaul legislation passed this week by Congress.

The effort to dramatically expand financial regulation bears the stamp of no one more than Geithner. The bill not only hews closely to the initial draft he released last summer but also anoints him -- as long as he remains Treasury secretary -- as the chief of a new council of senior regulators. The legislation also puts him at the head of the new consumer bureau until a director is confirmed by the Senate, allowing Geithner to mold the watchdog in coming months. And it will be up to him to settle a raft of issues left unresolved by the bill -- for instance, which financial derivatives will be subject to the tough new trading rules and which risky activities big banks will be required to spin off.

The legislation "will help restore the great strength of the American financial system, which -- at its best -- develops innovative ways to provide credit and capital, not just for our great global companies, but for the individual with an idea and a plan," Geithner said to reporters shortly after the bill was approved. Obama will sign the bill in the middle of next week, according to White House officials.

It has been a remarkable turnaround for the 48-year-old Treasury secretary, who endured repeated calls for his head from lawmakers a few months ago. Anger over the Treasury's bailout of troubled banks was high. The unemployment rate was soaring. In a January interview, Geithner called the hubbub over his job security "a price of this office."

remainder: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/16/AR2010071603732_pf.html