Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has found himself at the center of attention yet again. Amidst revelations that AIG, one of the largest recipients of taxpayer rescue dollars, will be handing out tens of millions of dollars in bonuses, we are told that Mr. Geithner was unaware of such a fact until last week. According to the NY Times (March 16, 2009):
“Treasury and Fed officials said they knew that A.I.G. paid $55 million in bonuses in December.
But administration officials said that the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, did not personally become aware until last week that an even bigger round of payments was due on March 15. Administration officials said Mr. Geithner learned of the deadline early last week, when the Federal Reserve Bank of New York alerted him that the bonus payments were coming due.”
One may find this revelation odd in light of understanding that Mr. Geithner was the principle architect of the AIG bailout last year while he was President of the NY Fed. According to the NY Post (September 18, 2008), “He's no household name just yet, but financial brainiac Tim Geithner could emerge as the economy's new superstar savior if his desperate gamble to rescue Wall Street works.” The author goes on to describe Geithner as the “quarterback” and “advisor” who rescued AIG from certain failure. In light of this reference, we might recommend that a quarterback who doesn’t know the plays may be better suited to ride the bench.
References
NY Post. September 18, 2008. Geithner Leads Rescue Team: NY Fed Chief at Center of Action. Available On-line at http://www.nypost.com/seven/09182008/business/geithner_leads_rescue_team_129667.htm
NY Times. March 16, 2009. Obama in Effort to Undo Bonuses at A.I.G. Available On-line at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/business/17bailout.html
Photo credit: WhiteHouse.gov
“Treasury and Fed officials said they knew that A.I.G. paid $55 million in bonuses in December.
But administration officials said that the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, did not personally become aware until last week that an even bigger round of payments was due on March 15. Administration officials said Mr. Geithner learned of the deadline early last week, when the Federal Reserve Bank of New York alerted him that the bonus payments were coming due.”
One may find this revelation odd in light of understanding that Mr. Geithner was the principle architect of the AIG bailout last year while he was President of the NY Fed. According to the NY Post (September 18, 2008), “He's no household name just yet, but financial brainiac Tim Geithner could emerge as the economy's new superstar savior if his desperate gamble to rescue Wall Street works.” The author goes on to describe Geithner as the “quarterback” and “advisor” who rescued AIG from certain failure. In light of this reference, we might recommend that a quarterback who doesn’t know the plays may be better suited to ride the bench.
References
NY Post. September 18, 2008. Geithner Leads Rescue Team: NY Fed Chief at Center of Action. Available On-line at http://www.nypost.com/seven/09182008/business/geithner_leads_rescue_team_129667.htm
NY Times. March 16, 2009. Obama in Effort to Undo Bonuses at A.I.G. Available On-line at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/business/17bailout.html
Photo credit: WhiteHouse.gov
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