Obama should withdraw Tim Geithner's nomination for Treasury.

[kentuck]

It has become obvious that he is like so many others on Wall Street, that rules and laws were for other people. He is a scofflaw. The taxes that he didn't pay are only an indicator of a larger problem. He doesn't need to follow the laws that the rest of us have to follow. He is part of the problem - not part of the solution. President Obama should be looking for another more credible individual to run this Dept. His "experience" on Wall Street matters and the financial mess we are in, are not qualifiers, but should be disqualifiers.

[stray cat]

1. I think they are first looking to see if it was a miscommunication in tax laws

My W2 got lost by the IRS and they said I owed thousands of dollars - - it could have been my mistake but thankfully it was theres and I didn't owe any money

[DU9598]

2. Unfortunately I agree

There are a lot of progressives who could step in and handle the TARP distribution with accountablity. I do not fully agree that Geithner is capable.

[WI_DEM]

3. I agree.

[napi21]

4. No he shouldn't. If someone was going to deliberately cheat on their

taxes, not paying social security & medicare taxes is NOT the way they'd do it. I believe it when he said it was an oversite. As far as the 3 months when his housekeeper's greencard had expired, it just seems to me that constantly checking on your employee's greencard status would not occur to most people.

[shraby]

5. His pay is probably electronically deposited

into his account..same as our social security. It's possible he didn't get anything that shows the taxes weren't taken out, and a tax man probably did his taxes. I would guess he then signed the forms like the rest of us who have someone do the taxes trusting them to do them right.
As far as his hired help's green card, he probably looked at it when he hired her and trusted her to keep it current, because if she didn't, she would have been deported. She was a little lax in getting it renewed, but she apparently did.

[aquart]

32. Yeah. These are things that happen, not a criminal attitude.

I wouldn't disqualify a Republican for it, either.

[Usrename]

33. That's very close to what actually happened, I think.

When he was at the IMF, they don't take out any payroll tax. He was supposed to pay the employee contibution himself, together with the matching employer portion. He only paid the employer part.

There was also some question about a deduction he took for child care while his kid was in camp.

Big whoop, he corrected the problems without penalties being imposed.

I certainly don't see any disregard for the law in any of this stuff.

[AtomicKitten]

6. His troubles are minor and shouldn't be exploited politically on either side of the aisle. n/t

[kentuck]

7. Just what are his qualifications?

He knows where the bodies are buried? Because he helped to bury them?

[AtomicKitten]

8. You just proved my point -- Your opposition is NOT based on his tax/housekeeper problems.

[kentuck]

9. And you just proved my point...

You support him for reasons that cannot be logically or rationally explained.

[AtomicKitten]

11. and now you are jumping to conclusions -- I neither support nor oppose him

just pointing out your opportunistic OP ... argue the point you really want to make, that you don't think he's qualified and don't try to shroud it in these relatively minor infractions

[kentuck]

14. I said this in my original post:

"The taxes that he didn't pay are only an indicator of a larger problem." I never tried to conceal what I was saying, as you suggested.

[AtomicKitten]

17. they are minor infractions and not an indicator of anything except you oppose him

carry on

[kentuck]

19. Do you support him or oppose?

Take a stand. And be willing to explain why?

[AtomicKitten]

26. I have a nonplussed "meh" reaction to this nomination.

I am, however, self-employed and one requires a sherpa to navigate the current tax system, so I am sympathetic in that regard.

[closeupready]

24. Tax evasion is punishable by prison terms. That's how serious it can be.

Not saying that tax evasion is what we are talking about with regard to Geithner, but please do not dismiss failure to pay tax as 'minor.' Further, he was notified by his accountant about underpayments for prior years, and did nothing. That is, not until Obama started talking about him as a candidate to run Treasury.

[AtomicKitten]

29. Since it was resolved, I think "minor" in this particular case is warranted. n/t

[Runcible Spoon]

10. and opposition doesn't HAVE to be

it's enough that he was balls deep in IMF and the AIG bailout. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. If he has to get nailed on tax evasion or just being fucking stupid, I'll take it. Everyone else loves political expediency when it suits them, so whatever I'll take it when I can get it too.

tax problem...stupidity or deliberate attempt to dodge...which do you prefer in charge of the one of the largest disbursals of public funds in the history of this country? I'll choose neither, chuck the neoliberal motherfucker overboard and replace him ASAP.

[AtomicKitten]

13. I feel the same passionate opposition

to his national security/foreign policy team ... with the exception of Rice and Panetta

[Runcible Spoon]

16. oh don't get me started...

although personally think and view the finance team and the foreign policy team, with a few noted exceptions, as conveniently kinda overlapped into each other when it comes to ideology and DLC background :puke:.

[AtomicKitten]

18. hopefully the diversity of his nominations will counter that bent ... hopefully :(

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. Kentuck should withdraw Rush Limbaugh's show from his radio.

This is a non-issue, and transparent RW character assassination.

[kentuck]

15. I don't listen to Rush?

Is that what he has been talking about? And how would you know unless you have been the listener???

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Or Glenn Beck, or Michael Savage, or Bill O'Reilly...

Or whoever the hell it is you're getting this crap from.

Obvious you didn't give it much thought yourself.

[kentuck]

22. None of the above.

How about you?

And what do you consider "crap" in my post??

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

23. Just the loony RW talking points about Geithner.

[kentuck]

27. Why do you support him?

What impressed you the most about Tim Geithner?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

28. Why do you support loony RW talking points?

[kentuck]

31. Since I do not know what points you are talking about...?

Perhaps you can clarify what the "loony" points are??

[closeupready]

20. Completely agree.

n/t

[DemBones DemBones]

25. I agree and Farce of Nature summed it up nicely:

"tax problem...stupidity or deliberate attempt to dodge...which do you prefer in charge of the one of the largest disbursals of public funds in the history of this country? I'll choose neither, chuck the neoliberal motherfucker overboard and replace him ASAP."

[kentuck]

30. If you're talking about this post, I agree...

"t's enough that he was balls deep in IMF and the AIG bailout. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. If he has to get nailed on tax evasion or just being fucking stupid, I'll take it. Everyone else loves political expediency when it suits them, so whatever I'll take it when I can get it too.

tax problem...stupidity or deliberate attempt to dodge...which do you prefer in charge of the one of the largest disbursals of public funds in the history of this country? I'll choose neither, chuck the neoliberal motherfucker overboard and replace him ASAP."

[bvar22]

34. I'll take the tax bust.

The same thing they got Al Capone for.

But my OPPOSITION is based on past performance.

Not only Geithner, but MOST of Obama's Economic Team should be tossed on the trash heap of Bad Ideas.
ANYONE who advocated FOR, or helped implement "Free Trade", De-Regulation of Corporations, Consolidation of Media, Glass-Steagall, or Welfare "Reform" should be forever banned from any governmental position.

Anyone who thought that Robert Rubin was a smart guy does NOT belong in positions of authority, or hold positions that have input in formulating Economic Policy.

Obama's "choices for his top economic advisers -- Timothy F. Geithner as Treasury secretary, Lawrence H. Summers as senior White House economics adviser and Peter R. Orszag as budget director -- are past proteges of (former Treasury Secretary Robert) Rubin," explains Calmes, formerly the chief political correspondent for The Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau.

Geithner, picked to succeed Treasury secretary Henry Paulson, was Rubin's undersecretary for international affairs at Treasury; Orszag was a dependable Rubin ally during his years at Treasury; and Summers served as deputy Treasury secretary under Rubin.

Rubin, who served in the Clinton administration and currently is a top economic adviser to President-elect Barack Obama, has pocketed tens of millions of dollars from now twice bailed-out Citigroup.

<more>

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/...

These are the guys who helped create our economic problems.
I don't trust them to fix the problems they helped to create.