Columbus, Ohio
We heard this morning from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Agree with the Obama Administration’s decisions or not, we need this man to succeed both in terms of economic recovery as well as long-term structural reform. There is little doubt that Geithner is extremely well qualified for the post and that his intellect and bearing are first rate. A major question remains, however, as to whether this or any broken system is best rebuilt by a knowledgeable outsider or an insider like Geithner who participated in its original demise.
Geithner and his boss deserve our support. The Administration’s approach to economic repair and reform is not only sound; it’s essential. Sure, no budget is perfect, especially under current circumstances that are the result of three decades worth of budgetary excess and regulatory indifference. Geithner correctly reminded us this morning of four key lessons from history, reminiscent of what Fed Chairman Bernanke told us on March 11. (See entry, Bernanke Speaks, March 11, 2009)
- Most governments underestimate economic crises.
- Governments are typically too slow to act and fail to engage powerfully enough to solve the problem. “We can’t be too tentative and gradual,” he said.
- The public sector puts the brakes on too early and fails to stay the course with discipline and determination. “This is all about will and not ability,” he added.
- Governments tend to try to solve economic downturns first without attempting to achieve the structural reforms needed to prevent the next crisis. Without the necessary simultaneity between repair and reform, economies may recover but people soon go about their business without applying the key lessons learned. Geithner is right to say that the Administration is “taking advantage of the moment to reform.”
“We won’t ignore these lessons,” he said. Obama and Geithner are taking considerable heat for choosing this moment to invest in essential education, health care, energy and infrastructure reform. Critics without any alternative budgets or solutions of their own are nonetheless invited to bash the President on national television all day. They brandish the Administration for creating deep, unprecedented budget deficits over the coming years that, as their argument goes, will be inherited by our children and grandchildren. Well, for starters, these critics are the same people who created this mess in the first place. They should simply go to their rooms. We’ve had quite enough of them.
Next, if not now, when will we ever find the political will to start investing in the bright future that our children and grandchildren can hardly achieve without desperately needed improvements in schools, health-care delivery, energy use, and roads and bridges? Yes, the projected deficits are frightening in the abstract. However, some of these investments will produce the innovation and jobs needed to move us forward. Politicians always talk about making these investments in our future. Now we finally have one doing it and he is bathed in criticism that is little more than short-term, selfish political opportunism. Yes, there are always legitimate concerns about corruption when so much taxpayer money is floating around, just as we worry about investment recipients harvesting the funding as some of our financial institutions have been doing as well as lobbyists snouts slurping-up as much of it as possible. Yet, these concerns do not diminish the need to take these actions and to do so forcefully.
We heard this morning from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Agree with the Obama Administration’s decisions or not, we need this man to succeed both in terms of economic recovery as well as long-term structural reform. There is little doubt that Geithner is extremely well qualified for the post and that his intellect and bearing are first rate. A major question remains, however, as to whether this or any broken system is best rebuilt by a knowledgeable outsider or an insider like Geithner who participated in its original demise.
Geithner and his boss deserve our support. The Administration’s approach to economic repair and reform is not only sound; it’s essential. Sure, no budget is perfect, especially under current circumstances that are the result of three decades worth of budgetary excess and regulatory indifference. Geithner correctly reminded us this morning of four key lessons from history, reminiscent of what Fed Chairman Bernanke told us on March 11. (See entry, Bernanke Speaks, March 11, 2009)
- Most governments underestimate economic crises.
- Governments are typically too slow to act and fail to engage powerfully enough to solve the problem. “We can’t be too tentative and gradual,” he said.
- The public sector puts the brakes on too early and fails to stay the course with discipline and determination. “This is all about will and not ability,” he added.
- Governments tend to try to solve economic downturns first without attempting to achieve the structural reforms needed to prevent the next crisis. Without the necessary simultaneity between repair and reform, economies may recover but people soon go about their business without applying the key lessons learned. Geithner is right to say that the Administration is “taking advantage of the moment to reform.”
“We won’t ignore these lessons,” he said. Obama and Geithner are taking considerable heat for choosing this moment to invest in essential education, health care, energy and infrastructure reform. Critics without any alternative budgets or solutions of their own are nonetheless invited to bash the President on national television all day. They brandish the Administration for creating deep, unprecedented budget deficits over the coming years that, as their argument goes, will be inherited by our children and grandchildren. Well, for starters, these critics are the same people who created this mess in the first place. They should simply go to their rooms. We’ve had quite enough of them.
Next, if not now, when will we ever find the political will to start investing in the bright future that our children and grandchildren can hardly achieve without desperately needed improvements in schools, health-care delivery, energy use, and roads and bridges? Yes, the projected deficits are frightening in the abstract. However, some of these investments will produce the innovation and jobs needed to move us forward. Politicians always talk about making these investments in our future. Now we finally have one doing it and he is bathed in criticism that is little more than short-term, selfish political opportunism. Yes, there are always legitimate concerns about corruption when so much taxpayer money is floating around, just as we worry about investment recipients harvesting the funding as some of our financial institutions have been doing as well as lobbyists snouts slurping-up as much of it as possible. Yet, these concerns do not diminish the need to take these actions and to do so forcefully.