The Left Hand & The Right Hand

I've been listening to Tax Cheat Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner give testimony before the Congressional TARP Oversight Committee this morning.

At one point just a few minutes ago, the absurdity of this administration's activities became viscerally apparent.

Geithner complained that, in the recent past, the private financial sector of the US economy took too many risks. Now, he alleged, it is taking too few risks, and needs to be taking more. So, he reasoned, the government was getting involved with the private sector, to encourage it to 'take more risk.'

Within the last week, the Wall Street Journal featured a headline calling attention to this administration's EPA declaring by fiat carbon-burning byproducts to be pollutants. Thus, the attendant article warned, all US business and consumers are now on notice that energy usage, costs, and the very way of American life have been thrown upwards in disarray and uncertainty.

Tim, we're all taking more risk now, everyday, thanks to the administration of which you are a part. That's why private capital remains on the sidelines.

Thanks to the EPA's unilateral declaration that our mainstay energy sources and processes are now probably going to be either declared illegal or incredibly expensive, nobody wants to take risks on the future value of assets.

Like FDR, Wonderboy has now given private capital a reason to flee markets. His administration is scaring the hell out of the American voting public. Nobody has any confidence that rules for investing, spending or just living are going to be consistent and reliable for the next four years.

Really, this is just too absurd. One Secretary implores the private sector to take risks, while another one declares life, lived as we now know it, to have suddenly become at risk on its own.