UPDATE: G8: Geithner: Growth Should Remain Focus Of Policy

[Joanne98]

Source: WSJ

LECCE, Italy (Dow Jones)--U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned Saturday that it's too early to pull back on global efforts to boost growth, but that governments should reaffirm their commitment to returning to fiscal soundness once the crisis passes.

After meeting with his counterparts from the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations, Geithner said the main focus for G8 and Group of 20 countries should continue to be growth.

"We need to reinforce the improvement in global demand and continue to lay a foundation for a durable recovery," he said in prepared remarks for a briefing. "It is too early to shift toward policy restraint."

Geithner said the global economy hasn't reached "the point the point yet where we can say we have a recovery in place."

However, echoing the G8 communique's call for an exit strategy from crisis measures once a recovery takes hold, Geithner said the eventual return to growth "will be stronger and more sustainable if we make clear today how we get back to fiscal sustainability when the storm has finally passed."

He downplayed differences among G8 officials over the timing and type of policies to bring deficits back under control, citing "support around the table for that basic strategy."

A senior U.S. administration official told reporters that there may be a different emphasis on the timing of exit strategies. But all countries are seeking to achieve the same sense of balance in policies, with a broad consensus that the focus should still be on growth, the official said.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090613-702162.html

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We're back to the growth SCAM! Nothing has changed.

[Mojorabbit]

1. He has a stunning lack

of ability to think outside the box.

[ThomCat]

3. He has a stunning amount of incentive to rebuild that box

because as the head of the Fed he was hired by bank executives, and they are his bosses, not Obama. They are the ones who own the Federal Reserve, serve on it's board, and give him his orders. Under it's charter, it is independent of government control, so the Fed, and Geithner as head of the Fed can ignore Obama and do whatever serves the banks' interests.

We've seen how good that is for the rest of us. :(

Even now that Geithner is at Treasury, he's still controlling the NY office of NY Federal Reserve. (Anyone, correct me if I am wrong. My information could be out of date. But I think this is still accurate.) So as head of the Treasury he works for Obama, and that means he has two bosses: Banks and Obama.

Which do you see him listening too and paying more attention to?

It looks to me like he's not only listening more to the banks, he's steering Obama towards the Bank's corrupt interests with biased and corrupt advice instead of advocating for anything that is in the public interest. He's making no effort at all to represent the public in his possition at Treasury.

:grr:

[truedelphi]

4. Obama has said more than once that

he has complete faith in Geithner, and that Treasury matters are in Geithner's purview, so Obama can focus on other matters.

But although it may be Geithner acting on Treasury mmatters, he is Obama's appointee. If the worst fears of some of us come true (despite our prayers and hopes that they won't,) our society will hold Obama responsible, not Geithner.

[w4rma]

7. Obama is an idiot if he places complete trust in that Saudi-owned bank lacky. (nt)

[truedelphi]

8. I sometimes waste a thought or two trying to figure out how

Mr Change and/or Mr Hope ended up giving us these economic appointees. Did he feel so insecure after he won the election that he had to choose such establishment types? Was he told that the Powers that Be would let him have the Presidency but only if he acquiesced on the banking/financial matters?

In the end it doesn't matter WHY he choose who he choose as much as it matters who he choose.

It does look like the trading on Wall Street is kicking in, but it will be another "bubble" probably to last two to three years and then it will go bust. That will leave us with a rather tragic hyper inflationary Depression.

And if something really untoward occurs (like an earthquake that rocks and knocks out Silicon Valley or Seattle) then the "bubble" could burst sooner.

[ThomCat]

2. The myth of Infinite Growth in capitalist markets.

:eyes:

And of course the workers produce all that growth but see none of the benefit of it. It all becomes profit.

:grr:

This is disgusting that after the big meltdown he's already using the same language and putting us back on the same track we were on before that Caused The Meltdown.

:grr:

This asshole needs to be fired, and replaced with someone who is going to recognize the harm that people like Geithner have caused. We need someone who will focus on REGULATING the markets to make them safe and stable. We need someone who will focus on bringing back growth and prosperity to the workers so that they have money to spend.

Millions of workers spending a lot of money is what will make for a healthy, stable economy, not a huge amounts of money hoarded in the very few hands of a few wealthy corporations and wealthy families.

But to do that we need to take the control away from the Federal Reserve. Geithner, as head of the Federal Reserve, was hired by Bank Executives. He works for those Bank Executives and answers to them. Those Bank executives work for the Wealthiest corporations, and they work for the wealthiest families. So because of this, Geithner, or any other head of the Fed is Always going to advocate for policies that benefit those financial elites at the expense of everyone else.

We need to put control of our economy in the hands of someone who isn't beholden to the financial elites, and isn't always going to undermine the economy on their behalf.

[Union Yes]

5. Growth: Bilderberg blather for protecting the wealth divide.

Geithner is a member.

[No Elephants]

6. We've all seen where Geithner's is. Whether you want to call that his philosophy or his gut or

his loyalties, whatever.

More and more, it's obvious that this nation is becoming one Party when it comes to fiscal and environmental policies, love of lobbyists, etc. And that Party is the GOP. All this talk of the Republican Party dying is a joke.

The religious right is losing its hold on America, true, but he policies and propaganda of the Republicans have a firm hold, whether you vote Democrat or whether you vote Republican. There are only a few Democrats left, like Kucinicch, and the mainstream considers them wild-eyed radicals.

I wonder if FDR wouold be re-elected even once today.

[truedelphi]

9. FDR woul dnot have a chance. His philosophy

That it was less dangerous to have close ties to the organized crime families than to organized banking shows that he simply coul dnot pass muster with the Repugs or the sold out Dems.

And Kucinich and a few others are somewhat of his mold.

I cannot imagine even Nixon allowing an appointee to do as Bernanke and Geithner have done.