No US government takeover of economy: Geithner

[The Northerner]

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Sunday refuted charges President Barack Obama planned to use the financial bailout of troubled US firms to increase the government's stake in the US economy.

"President Obama adopted a strategy designed to get the government out of the private sector as quickly as possible," Geithner wrote in an op-ed piece published by The Washington Post.

The comments came after the Troubled Asset Relief Program expired last week.

TARP had at one point called for 700 billion dollars of taxpayer money to be handed over to Wall Street institutions to shore them up in the midst of the global economic crisis.

The treasure secretary said that to date, the government had recovered more than 200 billion dollars in TARP funds, as well as made 28 billion in profits.

The US government would exit insurance giant AIG and the automotive industry "much faster than anyone predicted," he added.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101010/ts_alt_afp/useconomyfinancepoliticsgeithnertarp

[AlabamaLibrul]

1. Quite the opposite, it was the chance for banks to increase their stake in the US government. n/t

[Warpy]

2. What planet is Geithner on

that he's missing the current meltdown in housing/foreclosure mills/banking long term security? This is shaping up to be worse than the 2008 disaster. I sincerely hope I'm wrong about that, but I don't think I am.

He'd do much better if he'd say they're concerned about what's going on with the foreclosure mill scandals and watching them closely. Patting people on the head and telling them the whole crisis is over is going to convince them the whole administration is a pack of liars.

One thing that hasn't changed with this administration: official spokespeople are the absolute last people you can rely on to tell you what's going on. They're there to issue bromides for panicky fools who are all freaked out about the wrong things and it's going to backfire.