Hey Geithner! No Jobs. No Recovery!

Earlier this week, Tim Geithner, Obama's Treasury Secretary, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times that was titled: "Welcome to the Recovery". In it, he pretty much gives himself and his boss a pat on the back for saving the economy. Like Obama, Geithner is trying to push the idea that things would have been a lot worse if the Democrats hadn't passed the Stimulus Package. But, Mr. Geithner can't seem to understand that the economy, as I have written before, was actually starting to recover on it's own before any stimulus moneys went out the door in August of 2009 (Click here to My Commentary: The Big Stimulus Package Lie!). In reality, with the stimulus spending well in place, the situation now appears to be getting worse; not better.

With this morning's jobs report, we now know that our economy lost another 350,000 combined jobs in the months of June and July and it really doesn't matter if any of those lost jobs were for a Census worker or a guy flipping hamburgers. A job loss is a job loss and, you don't continue to lose jobs in a recovering economy. Further, any increase in monthly job losses will only have debilitating effect on the economy; making it much more difficult for it to truly enter a recovery stage.

I, for one, am getting really tired of the unprovable political B.S. from the likes of Geithner, Biden, and Obama that jobs have been saved or created and that things would have been a lot worse without the Stimulus Package. That song is getting quite tiring; especially when we continue to see a slew of economic numbers that show that the economy might actually be stumbling again.

Obama Isn't Just Losing Support In the Polls

For the first time since Obama took office, the majority of political polls now show him at a level that is below a 50% favorability rating -- that theoretical level at which any President can still be considered popular.

But, more than polling, Obama is losing popularity with his own political party. There are some serious chinks starting to appear in what had previously been a strong coalition of Democrats from the very onset of his Presidency. Take this clip for example:



In an indirect rebuke of Obama and his policies, there are now calls from both the political left and right in Congress for Tim Geithner, Obama's Teasury Secretary, to step down (Click to See Full Story: "Geithner, under fire, defends AIG bailout"). The Democratic Congressional Black Caucus is especially upset with the Obama and Geithner policies (Click to See Full Story: "Angry Congress lashes out at Obama") because of the high unemployment rate among blacks -- nearly 16% as compared to 10.2% for the nation as a whole.

From Congress to the American people, Obama is losing our trust in his policies. The left is upset with him because he isn't being far left enough. The political right and middle is losing patience with him because his policies are seen as being too far left and, quite frankly, aren't working; especially with the economy. In my opinion, Obama's biggest problem is that he wants to be all things to all people. And, he can't. He can't have everything both ways. You just can't keep making hollow promises and expect that there won't be consequences.

Geithner Should Get Out More Often

This morning, Tim Geithner, our all-knowing Treasury Secretary, said that the Stimulus Package is working. His remarks came in his testimony before Congress (See Full Story).

Apparently, the loss of 2 million more jobs since February was all in the plan! Thank God for the plan! It's working!

What was really interesting is the fact that little Timmy seems to think consumer confidence has improved. His comment came on the same day the University of Michigan released their normal reporting on Consumer Sentiment. In that report, consumer sentiment fell by an unexpected and somewhat shocking 6 points from the month prior (See Full Story). This disappointing report follows a similar report on June 30 from the Conference Board that showed that consumer confidence had dropped sharply (See Full Story).

The consumer is an important factor in our recovery because we are primarily a consumer-based economy. Something that little Timmy doesn't seem to understand. He should really get out more often and look at all the the foreclosed-on homes and shuttered businesses. They are easy to spot because they are clearly marked with signs to that effect. Just reading the newspaper or watching TV, he could see all the "going out of business sales" that seem to be choking the ads sections of our media. At the very least, he should read the financial pages so that he would know that consumer confidence is falling. Then, maybe, he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of Congress and the rest of the world by saying dumb things like consumer confidence is rising.

I just keep thinking back to Geithner's appointment when most Democrats and many Republicans, alike, seemed to think that this idiot was the only guy who could be our new Treasury Secretary. Now, I'm starting to think that the only reason Geithner got his job is because he might have some "dirt" on every member of Congress. I certainly can't believe it's because he actually knows what he's doing!

Please Note: Right now there is a controversy surrounding the CIA and whether or not they deceived Congress in their various briefings. As many have noted, it is illegal for anyone to deceive or lie to Congress when giving testimony. Geithner's testimony is, at best, in error and, more probably, a misrepresentation that is intended to deceive both Congress and the American public. Is Geithner, then, subject to punishment for lying to Congress?

More Insanity!

For the last two months, Obama and the Democrats have literally attacked the "greediness" of Wall Street companies and our Banks. For those businesses who took Federal bailout money, the Democrats and Obama have been very heavy handed. These companies have been condemned for their normal business activities. They have had their executive salaries capped. Additionally, bonuses are about to be taxed at an onerous, retroactive tax rate of 90 percent.

This has forced some companies into publicly stating their regret in taking the money. The imposition of salary caps and onerous taxes will probably cause a "brain drain" from our entire banking system; for fear that future Congressional and Administration actions will affect their pay. I'm quite sure that some companies, who are on the brink of failure, are avoiding asking for bailout money because they have seen what happens when others have taken that money. Couple that with the proposed high taxes of the new Obama budget and our government is seen as nothing but an adversary to corporate America and the wealthy. Additionally, the Obama/Congressional eagerness to punish corporations for their lavish habits is also hurting other businesses like the hotel industry which depends on conventions and corporate meetings and junkets (See Full Story)

Now enter little Timmy Geithner and his plan to save toxic assets with his new "Public-Private Investment Program" (See Full Story). He proposes that the private sector, Wall Street and the Banks, partner up with the Federal government to buy up all these distressed assets that are seizing up our credit markets.

Give me a break! You can't go to war with Wall Street, the Banking system, and the rich and expect those entities to, all of sudden, be your buddy. They've seen what has happened when companies have partnered with "this" Federal government. Even if those companies do manage to get some assurances from Geithner and Obama that they will not see any imposed restrictions on them, there's no guarantee that the Democrats in Congress won't retroactively come after them later on. If you're a company in America, working with this government is like inviting a hungry, wild, unleashed lion to your dinner party.

All Americans are in this recession together. We need everybody, the rich, the corporations and business community, and the citizenry to work towards the resolution of the economic disaster. Yet, division is the game that is being played. This is just insane!

$168 Million Bucks That Stop At Obama's Desk

Senator Dodd blames Obama's Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner. The White House says it's Dodd and AIG's fault. Representative Maxine Waters is blaming Dodd, Tim Geithner, and the President (See Video & Audio).

It's almost like a scene out of a Three Stooges' movie with Congress slapping the White House and AIG; the White House slapping Congress and AIG; and Maxine Waters slapping everybody as if she was dragging a stick across the slats of a picket fence. You can take your pick as to which group looks more like Moe, Larry or Curly. But, my bet is that Maxine Waters is more like Moe because she's the smart one out of this whole mess by claiming that the President is out of touch.

If you note, the Republicans are increasingly backing off; letting the Democrats dogfight themselves. The expression "eating their own" would be an understatement.

When it's all said and done, it will be Obama that suffers the most. It was his Treasury Secretary that presented the bailout targets and the specific amounts to Congress. He was even involved in the original TARP bailouts because it was him, Hank Paulson, and Bernanke that worked on all of the bailout monies that were handed out in 2007. Obama certified that past activity of the Bush Administration by hiring Geithner.

Therefore, with Obama as the target, you can easily say "the buck stops here." In this particular case, it's $168 million bucks that are stopping in Obama's face.

What is really interesting is the idea that such a relatively small amount of money (as compared to other "trillions" that Obama is spending) may hurt this President the most. Like someone once said: "I's the little things that matter!"