I must admit to being delighted that the EU finance ministers have found unity on one point: dismissal of Tim Geithner as officious, ignorant and unaccountable. He is an example, right up there with George W. Bush, of the privileged American elite who “fail upwards” throughout a career.
Europe’s nations may have an escalating debt crisis, but they have been addressing it sensibly and cautiously by trying to rein in further debt through reductions in government spending.
The perfect example from the meeting logistics: EU finance ministers shared a bus to the meeting, while Tim Geithner insisted on a private car.
Geithner seems to abhor austerity and sacrifice, preferring any strategy which keeps debt growing to fund the investment banking, security, prisons and war industries on which the American economy now depends for so much of its GDP. (2 percent of Americans are in prison, while 1 percent work for the Department of Defense.)
He encouraged a ten-fold increase in leverage of the EFSF to create a massive new debt overhang. Madness. The cure for a refinancing crisis is not more leverage to be later refinanced.
Europe has its problems, but one thing I know is that the default setting for Europe is cooperation where the default setting for America is conflict. If Tim Geithner’s objective in coming to Poland was to stimulate consensus among European finance ministers, then he can go home happy. He succeeded. They are unified in finding him and his policies discredited. They will work together from that consensus to find a more workable solution for Europe than could ever be conceived in Washington, precisely because they will work together in recognition of mutuality of interest.
This post originally appeared at London Banker and is reproduced with permission.
5 Responses to “EU Finance Ministers Find Unity on One Point: ‘Deficit Attention Disorder’”
Dr_V • September 19th, 2011 at 2:27 am
Whether or not you agree with Secretary Geithner's riding in a private car, (as I would have done also), does not make him a "super toff", he is eschelons above what Europe has representing it's invisable balance sheets. He was only drumming up support against Germany ( a good thing ), and their medieval monetary policy, that they are trying to force down the periphery's throats as it were. Still though, he is an unguided missle, you're not wrong about that, but none the less, he only repeats US Monetary Policy, he himself is not involved in planning it, that's the job of the FOMC, full stop. Secretary of Treasury is sadly, just a "ticket punch". Just that you know, Europe is contantly being saved in Washington, almost daily, at least at every IMF Meeting I have attended recently. Europe is not capable of saving themselves from themselves, case in point Germany. DJIA is still above 11,000 with a danger threshold of 10,000. The DAX is down 2000 pts to 5449 today, with a danger threshold of 7000. Europe needs saving, their strongest market ia absolute pants right now.
burkbraun • September 19th, 2011 at 10:17 am
Is this a parody? Reductions in government spending as the cure to what ails Europe? How's that going in Greece, Britain?
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