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'''Timothy Geithner''' (b. 1961) became the [[Secretary of the Treasury]] in the [[Obama Administration]] in January, 2009. Educated at Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins, he spent many years abroad. Previously he was president of the powerful Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He is a nonpartisan technical expert who worked for both [[Republican]] and [[Democrat]]ic administrations. In 2008 he was deeply involved in the complex moves by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to bailout banks in the [[Financial Crisis of 2008]]. That included $700 billion in money sought by president [[George W. Bush]] and passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress in October, 2008, and trillions in loan guarantees made by the Federal Reserve on its own authority. Geithner now is the person most responsible for bringing recovery to the economy. 

'''Timothy Geithner''' (b. 1961) became the [[Secretary of the Treasury]] in the [[Obama Administration]] in January, 2009. Educated at Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins, he spent many years abroad. Previously he was president of the powerful Federal Reserve Bank of New York. [[Image:Geithner1.jpg|thumb|370px|Critics feared Geithner's vague plans would crash]]

Geithner got off to a very bad start, as his programs from 2008 have worked poorly, he was ridiculed and humiliated during his confirmation hearings for not paying taxes, his first major proposal as Secretary was uniformly repudiated by all sides, and the Treasury lacks (as of March 9) a single major senior official besides himself.  

 

Geithner got off to a very bad start, as his programs from 2008 have worked poorly, he was ridiculed and humiliated during his confirmation hearings for not paying taxes, his first major proposal as Secretary was uniformly repudiated by all sides, and the Treasury lacks (as of March 17) a single major senior official besides himself. [[Image:Geithner2,jpg.jpg|thumb|290px]]

==Treasury Secretary==

==Treasury Secretary==

 

In the confirmation hearings in January 2009 he was publicly humiliated by the Senate (controlled by Democrats) when it seemed he deliberately evaded over $40,000 of federal taxes. He paid the taxes and penalties and was confirmed, with most Republicans opposed.  

In the confirmation hearings in January 2009 he was publicly humiliated by the Senate (controlled by Democrats) when it seemed he deliberately evaded over $40,000 of federal taxes. He paid the taxes and penalties and was confirmed, with most Republicans opposed.  

Geithner and the [[Obama Administration]] moved moved to handle the crisis on two fronts.  Working with Democrats in Congress (and three moderate Republican Senators), they passed the an economic stimulus bill, the "[[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]]", with $500 billion of new spending and nearly $300 billion in new tax cuts. The stimulus will begin operations in mid-February, 2009, and supporters hoped it would slow the nosediving economy.  Conservative critics feared it would be ineffective in the short run and add to the national debt and tax burdens in the long run.

Geithner and the [[Obama Administration]] moved moved to handle the crisis on two fronts.  Working with Democrats in Congress (and three moderate Republican Senators), they passed the an economic stimulus bill, the "[[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]]", with $500 billion of new spending and nearly $300 billion in new tax cuts. The stimulus will begin operations in mid-February, 2009, and supporters hoped it would slow the nosediving economy.  Conservative critics feared it would be ineffective in the short run and add to the national debt and tax burdens in the long run.

===Vague bailout plans===

===Vague bailout plans===