Tag: treasury

Jack Lew benefited from newly doubleplusungood off-shore tax policies.

Now this is just getting embarrassing. Doesn’t anybody talk to anybody else in this administration?

As recently as 2010, Jack Lew, President Obama‘s nominee to be the next secretary of the Treasury, had $56,000 invested in a CitiGroup venture capital fund based in the Cayman Islands’ notorious Ugland House, a building whose mailboxes are home to nearly 19,000 corporate entities, many of them tax shelters.

The investment has been in public documents for years and drew no attention when Mr. Lew was confirmed to be deputy secretary of state in 2009 and director of the White House Office of Management and Budget in 2010.

But the fund is coming to light as Mr. Obama and Congressional Democrats are zeroing on taxes lost to off-shore entities, including hedge funds, as a way to stave off $1 trillion in across-the-board spending cuts set to begin March 1.

Continue reading Jack Lew benefited from newly doubleplusungood off-shore tax policies.

Tim Geithner reportedly about to cut and run from Treasury.

Reportedly by the end of the month, no matter WHAT happens.  The Mayan apocalypse could occur* and Timothy Geithner would still be (allegedly) gone.  More importantly, the fiscal situation could be triggering an epic governmental meltdown and Geithner would still be leaving vapor trails.  Ach, the lack of loyalty from this administration’s Cabinet-level appointees!

…Well, as above: so below.

Anyway, now for the big question.  Actually, now to the two big questions.  The first question is, What completely unacceptable and dangerously incompetent apparatchik will Barack Obama try to foist off on us?  And the second question is, Who will we actually end up with, once enough people gently explain to Barack Obama that he can’t have whoever his first choice is? Continue reading Tim Geithner reportedly about to cut and run from Treasury.

“Wear a wire.”

That’s Glenn Reynolds’ advice to anybody who feels obligated to attend a joint Treasury/HUD meeting called for July 28th to address the mortgage crisis.  Given that the letter that was sent out is only ‘requesting’ attendance by the most charitable of interpretations (when two Cabinet Secretaries send you a letter about your presence at a meeting, you’re expected to show up), that should be pretty much the top mortgage servicers.

To summarize the article [with my own comments in brackets], the situation is this: Continue reading “Wear a wire.”