As posted before, I think that the stimulus program should be shot down.
However, I am a lot more open to TARP.
Why? Because TARP is about the banking system. And we need a sound banking system!
Therefore, I was looking forward to Sec Geithner's presentation today.
As Peggy Lee sang:
"Is that all there is, is that all there is
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
If that's all there is...." (Is that all there is?)
The stock market had a similar problem. It dropped significantly today!
Again, is that all there is Sec Geithner?
We have been waiting for this presentation since November.
Is that all there is?
David Malpass has a quick reading of Sec Geithner's problem:
" In his effort to sell the spending programs, President Obama has been highlighting the negatives in the U.S. outlook.
The market’s default assumption is that conditions will get worse for quite a while. Geithner didn’t dispute this.
I think the administration should attack head-on the Great Depression analogies and the claims that the U.S. is a bankrupt nation.
It has to decide that it is planning for recovery, not a drawn-out nationwide debt-restructuring program.
Otherwise, the downward momentum is self-fulfilling, causing needlessly high unemployment."
Translation: too much doom and gloom from The White House!
James Pethokoukis has a great line: Geithner: From Indispensable to Indecipherable
The Economist is not impressed!
CNBC is not crazy about it either!
The Wall Street Journal was brutal:
"Judging by the hissing in financial markets, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's opening act as Rescuer in Chief yesterday was a bomb.
What everyone saw was Geithner at the Improv, a routine with a few good lines but a lot of material that needs more, well, practice."
Memo to Pres Obama: We need specifics! The election is over.
It's time for the campaign talk to end.
It's time to shut down "Oprah Obama" and starting acting like Pres. Obama!
It's time for Pres BO to start acting like an executive on top of the situation rather than someone reading from a teleprompter.
What was Pres Obama doing in Florida today? What is this guy running for?
When are we going to stop the campaign speeches?
As for Geithner, I am very disappointed that he didn't have any more specific details.
We understand that this is uncharted territory.
We understand that it's difficult.
At the same time, it would help if Sec Geithner came across more confidently.
It'd help if Pres BO would stop the silly analogies to The Great Depression. So far, this is not even as tough as the 1982 or 1975 recessions.
Again, the campaign is over. The investors want specifics rather than "gloom and doom" speeches!
