Krugman on Geithner: He was “…all for bailing out banks but against bailing out families…”

[kpete]

Springtime for Bankers
Paul Krugman
New York Times
MAY 19, 2014

By any normal standard, economic policy since the onset of the financial crisis has been a dismal failure. It’s true that we avoided a full replay of the Great Depression. But employment has taken more than six years to claw its way back to pre-crisis levels — years when we should have been adding millions of jobs just to keep up with a rising population. Long-term unemployment is still almost three times as high as it was in 2007; young people, often burdened by college debt, face a highly uncertain future.
Now Timothy Geithner, who was Treasury secretary for four of those six years, has published a book, “Stress Test,” about his experiences. And basically, he thinks he did a heckuva job…
…

…where is the rebound in the real economy? Where are the jobs? Saving Wall Street, it seems, wasn’t nearly enough. Why?
…

…fiscal austerity wasn’t the only reason recovery has been so disappointing. Many analysts believe that the burden of high household debt, a legacy of the housing bubble, has been a big drag on the economy. And there was, arguably, a lot the Obama administration could have done to reduce debt burdens without Congressional approval. But it didn’t; it didn’t even spend funds specifically allocated for that purpose. Why? According to many accounts, the biggest roadblock was Mr. Geithner’s consistent opposition to mortgage debt relief — he was, if you like, all for bailing out banks but against bailing out families…
…

… In the end, the story of economic policy since 2008 has been that of a remarkable double standard. Bad loans always involve mistakes on both sides — if borrowers were irresponsible, so were the people who lent them money. But when crisis came, bankers were held harmless for their errors while families paid full price.

And refusing to help families in debt, it turns out, wasn’t just unfair; it was bad economics. Wall Street is back, but America isn’t, and the double standard is the main reason.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/19/opinion/krugman-springtime-for-bankers.html?hpw&rref=opinion&_r=0
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/19/1300352/-Krugman-on-Geithner-He-was-all-for-bailing-out-banks-but-against-bailing-out-families

[pansypoo53219]

1. he had to save his 'species'.

[Enthusiast]

2. He thinks he did a heckuva job. But he actually fucked right straight up.

Thanks, kpete.

Well said, Mr. Krugman.

Fuck you, Geithner.

[woo me with science]

3. Geithner, Pritzker, Monsanto....

Hope and Change!

[winter is coming]

4. ... which would explain why banks are flourishing while people are still drowning. n/t