Updated:

Jan 14, 2019

Original:

May 29, 2009

Are You Listening, Tim Geithner?

Author:

You could probably find a lot of people who are against bailouts but this morning the most unintentionally hilarious one is Craig T. Nelson. Coach went on Glenn Beck last night to promote this message. He's pretty steaming mad about all this ("I'm just sick and tired of it"), and you know what he's going to about it? Stop paying his taxes, that's what. Whether or not they see eye-to-eye on the whole bailout nation situation, T. Geith's ears will surely perk up when it's put that way.
Beck: Are you saying you personally won't pay income tax anymore?
Nelson: I'm really thinking about it, Glenn. As a fiscally responsible grandfather, there are programs they're asking me to fund that I refuse to fund. They should be allowed to go bankrupt! We're a capitalistic society. I go into business, I don't make it, I go bankrupt. They're not going to bail me out. I've been on food stamps and welfare,* anyone bail me out? No. I'm just SO SICK AND TIRED OF IT. I'm sick and tired of it!
*When was this?

Earlier today, it was reported that Timothy P. Geithner has informed people that he "plans to leave the administration by the end of January, even if President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans haven’t reached an agreement to raise the debt ceiling." Will this actually happen? Those unfamiliar with the Treasury Secretary's attempts to leave his post in the past will say yes. He's leaving, ship-shape. Those who've watched TPG try and fail to bust out of Washington for the last nineteen months, however, know better. More than likely, he's not going anywhere and it's not because deep down inside he doesn't actually want to go home but because his bosses won't let him. Witness, if you will, a small sampling of examples in which his requests have been denied, either directly (via someone laughing in his face) or indirectly (by giving those who've applied to replace him the wrong directions to their interview):

As you may have heard, Obama is apparently close to nominating Jack Lew for Treasury Secretary, giving Tim Geithner his late Christmas wish: a one-way ticket outta there. And while he's previously said to have no interest in writing about his time in Washington (and at the NY Fed before that), friends o' TG claim that his plan for the next year or so involve "a round of 'detox' and writing a book." Obviously we're still very far off from anything concrete but publishers will undoubtedly be banging down his door in no time and when they do, it might be nice to at least have a title to wet their palates. While Geithner packs his bags, let's do him a solid and come up with some options. The year spent sunning himself off the coast of Ko Samui (or puttering around Larchmont, or taking a job with the least amount of responsibility possible, whatever the detox entails) will presumably do wonders to take the edge of the last 48 months but if he's still in an angsty phase by the time he sits down to bang out his story, perhaps one of the following would work?

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE