Jim Hightower
December 18, 2013
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Photo Credit: Robert Crum/Shutterstock.com |
Writing in The New Yorker magazine, Andrew Huszar says we need not be surprised that the former treasury chief is cashing in on his insider knowledge and contacts. Huszar worked at the New York Federal Reserve bank a decade ago and saw Geithner in action when the up-and-coming bank whiz became president of that powerful overseer of Wall Street firms. He says that, rather than promoting knowledgeable regulators from within the Fed, Geithner broke with tradition (and prudence) to put top bankers from JPMorgan Chase, American Express, Goldman Sachs and other powerhouse firms in key regulatory positions. In other words, the new honcho built his own revolving door in the New York Fed, wooshing bankers in to regulate themselves.
Thus, when Obama promoted Geithner to head the Treasury Department, Huszar was again unsurprised that our nation's top financial official quickly proved to be the bankers' comforter and protector. "Geithner never publicly advocated for the truly forceful and clean revamp of Wall Street," writes Huszar, instead using his influence to convince "Obama and other lawmakers to be more accommodating to the big banks."
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