Another Devastating Blow to the U.S. Economy

As President-elect Barack Obama assembles his team of economic advisors it has become readily apparent that he has abandoned his campaign promise of a more fair trade policy after several key positions have been filled by “free traders” with a global economic outlook.   

Timothy Geithner, former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has been tapped by Obama to head up the Treasury Department.  If confirmed, Geithner will be charged with shaping finance and monetary policy along with being the president’s principal economic advisor. 

Geithner has a wealth of experience, working for 13 years at the Treasury Department and being at the forefront of staving off the financial crisis in his post at the Fed.  Unfortunately, Geithner is also a proponent of the disastrous “free trade” agreements that have undermined American workers for years now.   

At one point, Geithner served on the Council of Foreign Relations where he lead a task force on trade policy and recommended expansion of “free trade” as well as providing the president with “fast track” authority that effectively silenced Congress on matters regarding trade negotiations.   

Mr. Geithner "will be a very strong voice for free trade in the administration…. He very much represents the center in the economic spectrum," said economist Kenneth Rogoff.   

Geithner has been vocal in his opposition of economic nationalism, while at the same time acknowledging that the widening wage gap in the U.S. is undermining support for “free trade” policies.    

"The economic price of protection, in terms of distorted incentives, reduced flexibility and broader costs on the economy as a whole, seem both more substantial and more enduring than any temporary political benefit," he said in a 2007 speech.   

Geithner is also a strong proponent of the undemocratic and clandestine World Trade Organization despite the fact that it undermines American sovereignty.  He seems to be more concerned with commerce than the Constitution.   

“A successful conclusion of the Doha round of trade negotiations would provide some insurance against the risk that the process of economic integration will be interrupted or reversed,” he has said.   

Although he was expected to have a smooth and easy confirmation hearing in the Senate, recent revelations could complicate things greatly.  On Tuesday, it was discovered that Geithner failed to pay $34,000 in taxes earlier in the decade - a major embarrassment for the man charged with overseeing the Internal Revenue Service.  In addition, it was also discovered that Geithner employed a housekeeper whose employment authorization expired three months before she quit.  The Obama transition team has called both instances honest mistakes and pointed out that Geithner has already paid the balance and interest on his back taxes.   

It appears that these incidents will not derail Geithner’s confirmation, however.  Republicans and Democrats were quick to circle the wagons and defend the nominee.   

“I still support him,” Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) said. “He’s a very, very competent guy.”  

“I just find it to be really unfortunate,” Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) said, “because here is an extraordinarily qualified guy who we really do want to have in leadership here in Washington.”  

In all likelihood, Geithner will soon be the next Treasury Secretary and that has proponents of more fair trade and CNBC’s Jim Cramer up in arms.   

"If Tim Geithner ... gets a top spot in Barack Obama's cabinet we are done, finished, kaput. It is that simple," Cramer told the BBC in November.    

Please write to your senators and ask them not to confirm Obama's nomination of Timothy Geithner to be the nation's next Treasury Secretary.

Source EnterStageRight.com:

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