A Call For Questions For Timothy Geithner

As many readers probably know, the Panel that Congress created to oversee TARP is questioning Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for the first time this Tuesday morning. I am one of the five members of that Panel, and I would like the people who are living with this recession to get a chance to ask their questions about TARP, rather than the questions simply coming from me and the Panel.

It is my personal view that although disagreement exists among very smart people, Treasury has a viable plan that can work. In fact it must work, but it can only work if people in our country are a part of the dialogue and solution. That dialogue starts with a chance to have questions heard and answered.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked me to serve on this Panel to be a voice for the states and their citizens.I am also New York State's Superintendent of Banks and in that capacity I have felt that my job is not only to oversee banks, but to help people in financial distress.

I plan to ask Secretary Geithner questions based on what I have learned from working with people in New York State who have been impacted by the crisis, including those who have tragically lost their homes and their savings. New York Governor David Paterson, who encouraged Speaker Pelosi to put me on this Panel, asked me to be as inclusive as possible in providing view points to the Secretary. So I would also like the chance to ask your questions too. We have done a lot in New York to help, but the states can't do it alone. A state/federal partnership is needed, with a national dialogue to get us to the right place.

Please take a moment to post a question here that you would like the Secretary to answer. If you would like, include your name, where you are from, and what you do. I'll ask what my time allows. You can also reach me directly at [e-mail], or to share your story with the Panel, please visit the link at www.cop.senate.gov. I am confident that, with your help, we can take advantage of this opportunity to begin the inclusive dialogue that we so badly need.

I am asking the Huffington Post readers for these questions because in my opinion the readers are thoughtful and reasonable, as I would like this Panel to be. The goal here is not gimmicks or gotcha, but is to make sure Treasury hears people's substantive thoughts on TARP, even the ones that my limited time will not allow me to ask directly.

I hope to stay in a conversation with you.

Richard H. Neiman

Member, Congressional Oversight Panel

Comments

[kimk3]

1. According to Portfolio Magazine, as of February, Warren Buffet's $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs had appreciated 12% while the Treasury's $10 billion stake had fallen 25%. What's up with that, Mr. Geithner?

2. Why is Goldman Sachs running our Treasury??? Why are Goldman Sachs LOBBYISTS working in Treasury?

This is not a question: No more money to bail out the banks. Reorganize them. Bondholders MUST take a haircut.

[Nosybear]

Dear Mr. Geithner,

When do you intend to resign?

Since you won't answer that one, how do you justify my tax money paying the salary of failed executives at rates that are best described as obscene? I mean, if you want to retain "talent" wouldn't you be paying someone other than the person who failed? Unless of course, those persons don't believe they failed....

Thank you.

[agentanybody]

How can such huge amounts of taxpayer money be given to corporate banks and institutions, the very ones that are largely responsible for the financial crisis, without accountability and without even knowing where a lot of it went? Do we have stupid naive kindergarten kids running things, or conscienceless thieves? Who else would have possibly designed and implemented such a plan? And what's with all the undeserved bonuses--are they kidding us into thinking that if we are bailing out the banks, the banks still get to make the rules about how they pamper themselves with fake mega bonuses that we pay for? Why are we being continually lied to and what's really going on behind the disgraceful dog and pony con-man shell-game show wherein a whole bunch more of our money has now been taken away and misappropriated and has not been being used to support the very taxpayers, i.e. real live human beings, whose hard work and lifeblood are supplying that money? Is Rod Serling standing in wait around the next corner with a witty speech about how we are about to enter the strange world of the twilight zone? Must we be reminded that it was not always a delightful place? Where the heck is the senate and the congress and the president and how could they have possibly allowed for and voted for what has caused all this? What's really happening? What are you guys pulling off, hiding, afraid of???

[Kassandra]

I'd like to YOU a question: WHERE have you BEEN? Why is this oversight taking place after all the $$$$$$$$$$­$$$$$$$$$$­$$$$$$$$$$­$$$$$$$$$$­$$$$$$$$$$­$$$$$$$$$$­$$$$$$$$$$­$$$$$ is gone?
Talk about the barn door after the horse is gone!
Geez Loueeeeeez!

[Geovan]

In a democracy, isn't it better to have many small banks than to have just a few large banks that are "too big to fail"? If yes, what are your plans to make it so. If not, how can you feel being too big to fail is not extortion?

[J G H]

Amen but add to this the overmerged oil companies who triggered this crisis with their giganitc rise in oil prices. Also the pending mergers in the durg industry, which not only will reduce competition, but will also cost jobs and suck up billions in capital which should be going toward recovery.

[UNCLEJOE]

Why is N YC Economics Professor Nouriel Rubini's Recovery Plan to re-negotiate the mortgages of foreclosed homeowners to an affordable level for each home owner not being implemented since the housing industry is the foundation of our economy and the main source of bank's profits come from mortgage interest payments?

And the Federal Reserve Bank merely reducing home loan rates, only help the new purchasers of foreclosed homes, not the original owners who already have invested much of their money in the foreclosed home?

If a new buyer can buy the foreclosed home at the low market value paying the new lower Fed home loan Rate, why can't the original owner get the same deal and re-negotiate at the same reduced home value and at the new lower Fed interest rate?

[FatherDannanTavonaDD]

Why is some of the bailout money being used to buy up other corporations? Citigroup used several billion in bailout funds to buy up controlling shares in a Spanish Construction firm. Why are we funding this? If they are hurting, put them into receivership, like they did in the 1930s, until they both prove their stability and their adherence to GAAP principles and US tax laws.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10450514/citi-to-buy-spanish-highway-operator.html

Any company receiving tax funds, AUDIT THEIR BOOKS! Not just by Treasury, but also by General Accounting Office AND independent Congressional taskforce.

And why are the banks and mortgage companies being allowed to arbitrarily hike interest rates and fees while receiving tax money? Seems they are busy gorging on as much money as they can get their greedy paws on.

[billsmile]

Were you born into a working class family?

[Paul Hackett]

I've a few questions for Timothy "deregulation" Geithner.

First, why is the head
of Risk Control for the whole of AIG, Bob Lewis, still working in
that role today? He's the guy who okayed all of AIG's credit default swaps despite the fact that AIG had no assets to pay them off in the event of a market downturn. So why is he still drawing a salary?

Second, why have you retained Neel Kashkari to run the TARP program. Kashkari came to TARP directly from his job at Goldman Sachs (surprise, surprise) where he ran the IT department! He's 36 and has no financial background - he trained as an engineer and has ZERO experience managing financial programs, zero knowledge of banking, zero knowledge of regulatory frameworks. What exactly is his qualification for running this trillion dollar program to disperse public monies?

Third, why was Goldman Sachs paid out at a rate of 100 cents on the dollar by the taxpayer two weeks ago for the purely speculative credit swaps they held at AIG. In what sense could those bets be said to be of 'systemic importance'? You gave Goldman THIRTEEN BILLION DOLLARS of tax payers money with those payouts, why? They were nothing more than naked speculations, in this case bets on the part of Goldman's derivatives traders that the US economy would degrade. So now we're rewarding people for betting against America?

[Paul Hackett]

Geithner has based his career upon being against any form of market or banking regulation whatsoever. The laws he helped pass when he co-ran the treasury dept. under Clinton are directly responsible for this mess. He doesn't think anything's wrong with the system or his investment bank CEO friends who are running it. He thinks the whole crisis was just bad luck and that the taxpayer should be happy to buy the banks out of their troubles so that they can set us on the path to hell again.

I'd like to ask him why he feels he ought to be running the bailout of this economic crisis when he was such a large part of its creation.

[ediva75]

Excellent question!! I doub it will get answered though!!

[TruthSpeaker]

Here's a good list:

1. Who are the individual beneficial owners of the Federal Reserve Banks?
2. Would it not be a good idea to nationalize the Fed, so the taxpayers can save themselves the interest on money borrowed which was some $450 Billion in interest alone last year? If not, why not?
3. The constitution gives the government the sole power to create money, but this has been usurped by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Since the Fed has failed in it's presumed mission isn't it time to take a new look at taking back the functions of money creation to the people through a real central bank?
4. Why do you keep selling the idea that we the people own 86% (or whatever the exact number is) of AIG, when in fact it is the Fed that does,which is owned by it's member banks and not by the government?
5. Since money is created in response ott he demand for borrowing by ledger entry, and the borrower provides all of the good and valuable consideration, why not resolve the liquidity problem created by tehe banks by recognizing that money has in fact increased in value and not that the assets have dicreased and therefore, write down the principal but keep the downpayment and payments made to date by the borrower intact, thereby giving the banks a very favorable loan to asset ratio that will sustain them moving forward?

[NYUKULELE]

Why bail out the banks that created the mess? Why not look at who holds the toxic assets outside the banking / financial system -- pension funds in particular? Why not buy up those toxic assets that affect the common good and let the private holders of toxic assets take the loss they earned?

[Savanna]

Why can't we move our banking system to the credit unions who have a solid financial history?

[paixa3]

Why is it that Elizabeth Warren knows the right questions to ask, but congress does not?

Investigate Berneke, Paulson, Summers and Geithner for FRAUD.

[billw8017]

You do understand that Elizabeth Warren was hired by Congress for an independent investigation of the crisis? We can expect Congress to repeat her questions in formal hearings where it is perjury to lie.

I'm not so sure about Paulson, but Summers and Geithner should not have a fraudulent association with the bad loans, merely friends there. The loans, particularly the mortgage equity loans, bear a heavy taint of fraud.

Bernanke is a student of the great depression and believes the fed errored then by tightening money supplies; something he has already apologized for on behalf of his institution. The money that the fed has thrown at the problem dwarfs the allocations of Congress and the Treasury by several times. I do not question his sincerity or credentials.

Frankly, I think Congress may have the better handle on whats going on. Even the Republicans with their reflexive nay saying and veiled hope that the country crashes are like a stopped clock that will be right twice a day.

[R2D2-51]

Because she is a brillant academic and not a self-serving special interest serving puppet!

[Keith52]

How much of the tarp / bailout money do you honestly expect to get back from the bailed out institutions?

If the banks want to give back the tax payers bailout money because of recently posted earnings reports, why not take it under the condition that they will not be getting any more help for a number of years, or some other condition? Seems like we could use the money, no?

[R2D2-51]

Well whaddya you think? Try Zip!