Mr. Geithner has changed his return flight from Paris to New York on January 9th

April 27, 2009 2:32 PM

Some have questioned Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's neutrality in dealing with the elite of the financial community. Here's his calendar [150MB pdf] for the last two years. You decide.
posted by Xurando (31 comments total)

The money quote from The New York Times artice, in my opinion:

As late as 2007, Mr. Geithner advocated measures that government studies said would have allowed banks to lower their reserves. When the crisis hit, banks were vulnerable because their financial cushion was too thin to protect against large losses.
posted by Joe Beese at 2:35 PM on April 27, 2009

You decide.

Metafilter: We Repost, You Decide.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:41 PM on April 27, 2009

That's a large file. What am I looking for?

To-Do:
- Laundry
- Take kickback
- Suggest initiative

Are you taking notes on a motherfucking criminal conspiracy?

You laugh, but it has happened. EC competition law case, someone had pencilled in "Cartel meeting", cartels unfortunately being prohibited under EC law.
posted by djgh at 2:41 PM on April 27, 2009 [3 favorites]

I find this totally bizarre. I mean, completely outside of whatever corporatocracy shenanigans are being implied here. Does anyone else do this? Record one line about every two-hour period (or whatever) in their life?

Is this something I would have to be a plutocrat to understand?
posted by Flunkie at 2:45 PM on April 27, 2009

someone had pencilled in "Cartel meeting"

So that's why no one sets up meetings with me any more. I finally understand my mother's words, warning me the fate of being a son of the Cartel family. I thought that the warning "Few will write your name" meant I would have a rather drab life.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:45 PM on April 27, 2009

Mon. 2:45: Cartel meeting*

*There is no cartel.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:45 PM on April 27, 2009 [9 favorites]

Geithner masturbated at 3 pm sharp every fuckin' day for two years??!?
posted by gman at 2:49 PM on April 27, 2009

You can have a look at the schedule without downloading a huge pdf here.

Does anyone else do this? Record one line about every two-hour period (or whatever) in their life?

Pretty much every busy professional? For example my wife is in healthcare, and if she didn't have a detailed calendar how would she know when to see all of her patients? Or when she could book in new patients?
posted by markr at 2:52 PM on April 27, 2009 [3 favorites]

I guess I'm glad I'm a not-busy professional.
posted by Flunkie at 2:54 PM on April 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

Flunkie: Yes, of course people do this. The only oddity is that the blocks are so big. If you work on contract, you might even have 10 or 15 minute time blocks.
posted by boo_radley at 2:55 PM on April 27, 2009

Does anyone else do this? Record one line about every two-hour period (or whatever) in their life?

No, most people are too busy twittering about the size and texture of their last shit.
posted by rokusan at 3:02 PM on April 27, 2009 [7 favorites]

Geithner masturbated at 3 pm sharp every fuckin' day for two years??!?
Those 2:45 cartel* meetings could get pretty wild.

There still is no cartel
posted by WolfDaddy at 3:05 PM on April 27, 2009

Nice call, WolfDaddy. How is that even possible?
posted by gman at 3:09 PM on April 27, 2009

Reporting that Geithner is a crony of the Wall Street types he's supposed to be regulating is kind of like reporting that high-level Bush administration officials authorized torture. You might be able to present a few details that weren't already known ["oh, locked in a box with insects too?"] - but the "Well, duh" factor is pretty high.

Demerits for linking to National "We Rationalize Torture" Review.
posted by Joe Beese at 3:09 PM on April 27, 2009

I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to get all outraged about. Was the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York supposed to refuse to meet with high-level banking execs or something?
posted by yoink at 3:20 PM on April 27, 2009 [4 favorites]

Does anyone else do this? Record one line about every two-hour period (or whatever) in their life?

Just be happy you're not a lawyer or some other professional that deals in billable hours, who often have to account for every six-minute period of their work day. Quick phone call with the client? Write it down so you can bill for it!
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 3:25 PM on April 27, 2009

[3:45pm] About the size and shape of a pear, consistency is similar to sandy concrete, color: bone white.

Note: make appointment to see doctor ASAP.
posted by quin at 3:27 PM on April 27, 2009

From page 249:

Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007, Bank for International Settlements informal, high-level meeting on financial stability (dinner to follow)

EPIC FAIL; HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE SHRIMP COCKTAIL
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 3:35 PM on April 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

You laugh, but it has happened. EC competition law case, someone had pencilled in "Cartel meeting", cartels unfortunately being prohibited under EC law.

Another example, would be the Iraq conractor Custer Battles which stole millions from the DoD and was only caught when they left behind a spreadsheet detailing their exploits:

Like most contractors, Custer Battles was on a cost-plus arrangement, which means its profits were guaranteed to rise with its spending. But according to testimony by officials and former employees, the partners also charged the government millions by making out phony invoices to shell companies they controlled. In another stroke of genius, they found a bunch of abandoned Iraqi Airways forklifts on airport property, repainted them to disguise the company markings and billed them to U.S. tax­payers as new equipment. Every time they scratched their asses, they earned; there was so much money around for contractors, officials literally used $100,000 wads of cash as toys. "Yes — $100 bills in plastic wrap," Frank Willis, a former CPA official, acknowledged in Senate testimony about Custer Battles. "We played football with the plastic-wrapped bricks for a little while."

The Custer Battles show only ended when the pair left a spreadsheet behind after a meeting with CPA officials — a spreadsheet that scrupulously detailed the pair's phony invoicing. "It was the worst case of fraud I've ever seen, hands down," says Grayson. "But it's also got to be the first instance in history of a defendant leaving behind a spreadsheet full of evidence of the crime."

posted by delmoi at 3:37 PM on April 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

Bashing a Treasury Secretary for being a finance industry "insider" is a bit like shaming a hooker for watching porn. Sure, it's not actually a job requirement to like screwing people, but enthusiasm, expertise, and contacts in the industry will usually fetch a higher price.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:38 PM on April 27, 2009 [3 favorites]

", but enthusiasm, expertise, and contacts in the industry will usually fetch a higher price.

O my god - sanity about Tim Geithner. You, my friend, are rare indeed.

Yeah, we don't want anyone who really understands what's going on and has a relationship with the people who are involved. That just wouldn't do apparently.

It seems to me that criticism of Geithner and Summers started long before they ever formulated a plan and I wonder if there is anything at all either could have done that would have pleased the critics.
posted by Tena at 3:51 PM on April 27, 2009

And if it were President McCain's Treasury Secretary cutting sweetheart deals for the benefit of his pals, you would feel exactly the same way about the benefits of having "a relationship with the people who are involved"?
posted by Joe Beese at 3:57 PM on April 27, 2009

I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to get all outraged about. Was the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York supposed to refuse to meet with high-level banking execs or something?

That's my question too. His schedule looks very much like the schedules for any high level executive that I've seen. They look like excerpts from daily schedules and briefing books - complete with resumes of people he was meeting with, notes on transportation options, and all the other details that his staff put together to get him through the day. The meetings themselves are run of the mill, as far as I can tell. I bet the briefing books had notes from his staff on topics to be discussed too, however, and THAT would be interesting to read. As is, I personally don't see anything unusual here.
posted by gemmy at 3:57 PM on April 27, 2009

anyone who really understands what's going on and has a relationship with the people who are involved

I would venture that one of the great paradoxes we face, in all aspects of society, is that those two things are often completely at odds.
posted by one_bean at 3:59 PM on April 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

Is "Mr. Kos," supposed to be "Mr. Moulitsas?"

You can call me "Mr. Chuffy," Mr. Geithner.
posted by Chuffy at 4:06 PM on April 27, 2009

And if it were President McCain's Treasury Secretary cutting sweetheart deals for the benefit of his pals, you would feel exactly the same way about the benefits of having "a relationship with the people who are involved"?

Yes, I would feel exactly the same about anyone "cutting sweetheart deals for the benefit of his pals."

And yet, I still cannot manage to believe in the mythical creature who is both qualified to be Treasury Secretary of The United States of America, but yet has no prior "relationship with the people who are involved" in the current financial crisis.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:15 PM on April 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

It's not a question of "no relationship" or "enthusiasm, expertise, and contacts in the industry."

The mythical creature seems more to be someone who is not totally within the matrix of failure and who "As late as 2007" was not promoting catastrophic financial policies at a very high government level.

Neither Geithner nor Summers (hedge fund bonus boy / ruin of Harvard's portfolio) seems to be that fantastic creature.
posted by psyche7 at 5:15 PM on April 27, 2009

who "As late as 2007" was not promoting catastrophic financial policies at a very high government level

This is a real issue, worthy of debate. The fact that lots of major figures in the banking and finance industries show up in his appointment book is not.
posted by yoink at 5:24 PM on April 27, 2009 [1 favorite]

So basically he either lets the entire system collapse, or he gets accused of "cutting sweetheart deals for the benefit of his pals."
I'm guess I'm glad he chose the latter.
posted by rocket88 at 6:00 PM on April 27, 2009

The mythical creature seems more to be someone who is not totally within the matrix of failure and who "As late as 2007" was not promoting catastrophic financial policies at a very high government level.

The problem with global financial collapse is that everyone who claims to have any knowledge of the situation is already involved.
posted by Caviar at 6:09 PM on April 27, 2009

As you know, you go to banking crises with the banking regulators you have, not the banking regulators you might wish to have.
posted by notyou at 6:54 AM on April 28, 2009