Bloodthirsty Liberal

Because this Treasury Secretary designee sure did:

Timothy Geithner, when at the Fed in New York, orchestrated hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout monies that have fallen into unknown nooks and crannies in our banking system. He presided over the demise of Lehman Brothers, which many now blame for the complete meltdown in our financial system. And he approved a bailout for AIG, which is regarded by Democrats and Republicans alike as a mistake. But if he fails to be confirmed as Treasury Secretary it won’t be because of any of that.

It will be because he has what has come to be generically called a “nanny problem,” but in his case is actually housekeeper problem. That is, he had a housekeeper whose work authorization expired. Oh, and he failed to pay self-employment taxes for himself for the time he worked at the IMF. In 2006 he was forced to pay back taxes for 2003 and 2004. In December 2008 when the Obama team discovered additional years ( 2001 and 2002) of non-payment, Geithner made further repayments (including interest) to the IRS. In total, he had to pay over $42,000 in back taxes and interest.

Is he toast? If he were a Republican the answer would surely be yes. We’ll have to see whether he and the Obama team can get away with it. (The blogspheric cheerleaders are already assuring us it is but a “hiccup.”) This, of course, brings us to the bigger issue: what the heck is wrong with the Obama vetting process?

Well, that’s one question, sure. Richardson, Holder, now Geithner. Even Hillary has a lot of baggage, most of it monogrammed WJC.

But my questions is: how do we feel about our Treasury Secretary, CEO of the IRS, intentionally skipping his taxes? I say “intentionally” intentionally. While he may have erred the first time, he can’t claim not to have known about the second payment. And Team Obama can’t claim ignorance either, since they’re the ones who forced him to pay only last month.

I can tell you how Maureen Dowd feels:

How does a guy on the fast track to be Treasury secretary fail to pay $34,000 worth of federal taxes ($43,200, including interest), or forget to check on the immigration status of a house cleaner — the same sort of upstairs-downstairs slip-up that has tripped up other top-drawer prospects on their way to top jobs here? Americans expect the man who’s in charge of the I.R.S. to pay his own taxes.

Amen. Tell it, sister.

I don’t want his name withdrawn because others have had to suffer the same indignity. Rather, I want his name withdrawn because it is unconscionable to put someone in that post who is so casual with his personal liabilities and responsibilities.

Massah Messiah says we all have to have skin in the game. Well, fine. But let them put their own hide on the line before they come looking for mine.