Bloomberg for Treasury Secretary
The uproar over Tim Geithner's involvement in the AIG bonus fiasco is making it harder for the Treasury Secretary to do his already difficult job. It comes on top of deep skepticism towards his plan to fix the financial crisis, and concerns regarding his senior team at Treasury, which has been slow to form. Mr. Geithner's credentials with Wall Street were already weakened by false starts on the Bush administration's bank rescue program, and his past as the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York alienated Main Street from the very beginning. Uncomfortable in the spotlight, he is also not a great communicator, and his lack of stage skill has spooked markets once too often.
Through this crisis, President Obama has to govern with the support of both the public and Capitol Hill. In the crucial post of Treasury Secretary, he needs someone who could concentrate on the job at hand rather than fend off public criticism and constantly try to mollify an outraged Congress.
Washington can be a cruel place, and unfortunately it seems unlikely that Secretary Geithner will be able to survive the criticism for much longer. Should it become necessary, I have some ideas for the president on the subject of his replacement.
In the top position at Treasury the country is looking for someone with unblemished reputation and integrity. Those are necessary to ensure speedy confirmation in the Senate. Competence on economic matters and credibility with financial markets are clearly a prerequisite as well. Warren Buffett called this crisis an economic Pearl Harbor, so we also need someone with the energy and drive to confront the long hours and towering challenges ahead. Of course Buffett himself would be a dream appointment, but he is unlikely to relinquish his job as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
I believe the person that fits the above description better than anyone else is New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Bloomberg has been vetted by the tough political process in New York and has an unblemished reputation. He is a successful entrepreneur that made a career in financial markets. He also has experience in overseeing large organizations. Mayor Bloomberg is a hard working, dedicated public official, and widely respected as a smart and competent leader. He basks in the spotlight and has unique appeal to both Wall Street and Main Street. His appointment will shore up public support and create instant confidence. I believe he is an excellent choice to run Treasury.
Should Mayor Bloomberg decline the offer, Michael Milken would be another inspired choice (my friend Alex Rubalcava from Rubalcava Capital Management came up with this idea). Milken is a financial visionary who thoroughly understands financial markets. He has built a reputation over the last decade as a philanthropist and civic leader. He is exceedingly smart and will be a source of creative ideas on how to work our way out of financial turmoil.
Another good candidate would be Bob Greenhill from the eponymous boutique investment bank Greenhill and Company. Greenhill is a Morgan Stanley Alum that started his successful firm in 1996. He is an experienced financier with many admirers in corporate America, and will have credibility on Wall Street.
It is now evident that Secretary Geithner, a good man, is on thin ice. We simply cannot afford to have a distracted, hobbled Treasury Secretary who does not have the trust of markets or members of Congress. Mr. President, call Gracie Mansion.
Alan Schram is the Managing Partner of Wellcap Partners, a Los Angeles based investment firm. Email at aschram@wellcappartners.com.
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Bloomberg? huh? He is the ultimate Inside Wall Street man. He looks out for THEIR interests, not ours. He also doesn't believe in raising taxes on millionaires and billionaires.
wrong, wrong, wrong. He is a highly successful businessman and politician, who also happens to be very smart, and knows the financial system inside and out. He has all the money he will ever need so he is not indebted to any special interests, and for years has been consistently been giving major chunks of his fortune away. He absolutely is in favor of a progressive tax system, and has consistently said so. I have no doubt that Bloomberg would be leveled headed, objective and truthful on any analysis of our country's financial system, and would make a great Treasury Sec'y.
I suspect that the reason he does not have an interest in being Treasury Sec'y is because in Washington, there is only one job he wants, and that's the one that has the office attached to the house. In NYC he is the BMOC. That's right , he has an ego. So what. He has never claimed to be perfect.
I have a dislike for people's like Bloomberg. His TV channel is really crap and I seldom look it. It would be better if he comes the Treasury Secretary for Israel including all his Wall Street bodies.
Leave Geithner alone. he is a good ,man.
Why did Geithner not pay his taxes, why did he not diligent policing the financial industry when he was the head of the NY Fed, why did the bailout he constructed with Citi so favor the bank over we the taxpayers? If you can answer these questions, ones he will not answer himself, then you can start to build a basis for your statement.
Will you people please stop calling for Geithner's head? This is getting annoying..
No thanks. I don't think we want a rich corporate power binger who changes the rules set by the people of state of NY to suit his career goals, to be promoted to a national position.
Please not Milken. The people who set up and ran the financial products at AIG were all ex Drexel employees(the milken junk bond group that gave us the S&L crisis) Winick was also ex drexel. He gave us global crossing..
How could Milken even be considered for such position having been convicted of fraud and sentenced to time in the hotel with bars on the windows?
The complete abandonment moral concepts in domestic and global commerce is mind boggling.
-bold- bloomberg's company is now worth four times it's value when he was not mayor of NYC. he has enriched himself tremendously, a la cheney, and armtwisted most of the incumbents into voting to illegally sidestep term limits.
Why should I want him anywhere near the national treasury????
-/bold-
Give the guy some time to work his magic, I have a feeling that a year from now we will be singing his praises.
I hope you are right, but I don't see it. 3 trillion could have completely rescued the economy, given us solar and wind to replace coal nukes and oil, employed everyone, paid the home loans.
The only thing direct investment in Main Street would not do is:
Pay off the Bankster's gambling debts.
http://www
This is chess, you can't blow that much money on making rick Banksters richer and get a second chance.
FDR understood, and risked his life to control the Bnkasters, break up the giants banks in regulate them back to investing in Main Street, no Swaps.
Are you Nuts????? Bloomberg still believes in Swap Insurance@!
Kucinich beat the banks and saved his people millions of dollars.
That's the guy I want working for me.
You think Kucinich is a joke< well the Jokes on you.
That Banksters are now masters of the entire planet, and we pay them, to gamble.
http://www
What a great idea. Another Wall Street insider who will be favorable to financial services institutions and will put an end to any notion of transparency. Just what we need
I really like your idea of Michael Milken as a back up in case Bloomberg doesn't accept. Perhaps Ivan Boeske could serve as the Deputy Secretary? How about Bernie Madoff as well? While we're at it, we could also bring back Frank Lorenzo to run the FAA.
Indeed. Sorry Alan Schram, Managing Partner of Wellcap Partners, a hedge fund based in Los Angeles, your time is up.
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