Geithner Blames Budget Woes on Bush Administration

Reuters ^ | March 4, 2009 | Glenn Somerville

[reaganaut1]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday blamed soaring budget deficits partly on failure by the former Bush administration to make needed investments in energy security and healthcare.

"We begin our time in office after a long period in which our government was unwilling to make the long-term investments required to meet critical challenges in health care, energy and education," he said in prepared remarks to the Senate Finance Committee.

The Obama administration is projecting a deficit of $1.8 trillion, or 12.3 percent of gross domestic product, in fiscal 2009, which ends September 30. Geithner said $1.3 trillion of that total was inherited from the Bush administration.

Most of his testimony echoed remarks he delivered on Tuesday to the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.

Geithner told lawmakers on Tuesday that $43 billion of new investments will be made in clean energy technology, but on Wednesday he boosted that estimate to $65 billion.

[lilylangtree]

yeah, just like the RATS to deflect their own culpability by using “Blame Bush”. RATS won’t even take responsibility for 911 which is clearly their own fault.

[Centurion2000]

Somebody, PLEAESE, find me a conservative party to join!

Constitution Party

[April Lexington]

Which one. The one run by a lesbian out of Madison Wisconsin?

[Dante3]

Geithner allegedly does not understand how to fill out tax forms. I doubt he understands who caused budget woes.

[wac3rd]

Hey Timmy, you loser....

How were those years in Indonesia with Zer0’s mommy, pushin’ Communism....or the years with Henry “NWO” Kissinger debating a world currency?

You f’ing maggot.

[madinmadtown]

There was a story in the WaPo that the several of the administrative positions have not been filled at Treasury . If this administration were truly concerned about the economy they would be concentrating on the unfilled positions in the department that is supposed to be evaluating the current economic mess rather than worrying about what sort of dog to get.
The current administration is far more concerned of making the Conservatives the Boogie Man than being serious about helping the country.

[Centurion2000]

This one

Constitution Party

[paul51]

This unspeakable worm must believe everyone else in the country is a moron. What a way to live.

Actually he understands the voting majority is as well as the majority of elected officials.

[kidd]

Well Mr. Geitner, I’ll give you this much...

Bush wasn’t aggressive enough with tax cheats.

[scooby321]

Hatch actually blamed him for all the Bank and Wall Street reminding of his former position at the New York Fed. Does anyone remember Jim Rodgers saying upon hearing Timmy was going to be the Sec. of Treasury that he was the worst pick ever.

[ilgipper]

failure by the former Bush administration to make needed investments in energy security and healthcare

So, where did Bush not invest in energy security? When he allowed domestic drilling or when he invested in alternative energy research? How does investment in healthcare address a spending deficit? These lies need to be refuted loudly and consistently by the GOP. They need to get over the fear of defending our last President and go on the offensive here.

[cartoonistx]

Like our exhalted leader, His Largessee Master Zero, Mr. Steele’s only qualification for appointment seems to have been his melanin count. If the Dems insist on making Rush the “face of the GOP” we ought to go for it and insist that he take that job! As RNC head, Rush would really start the long overdue political/culture war...er...conversation that we have needed in this country since 1988!

[Kickass Conservative]

I loved when Obama started the “inherited” deficit BS during his speech to Congress and all the Rats who voted for ALL the spending bills President Bush signed jumped up and applauded.

Not to mention that the Rats controlled Congress for the last two years, just when the economy started to tank.

Coincidence, you be the judge.

[NowApproachingMidnight]

Geithner lives a cush life in Larchmont, NY.
He is a pu**y.

[SaveTheChief]

Three years from now when one out of every five of us is unemployed, the DOW hovers around 2,000, and gas is six dollars a gallon, they will still be blaming George Bush.

[mmichaels1970]

on failure by the former Bush administration to make needed investments in energy security and healthcare.

I was watching this on FBN. I had my DVR going and noticed that when Geithner almost painfully said the words "climate change" the market dropped about 40 points in two minutes. I rewound the DVR and played the words "climate change" then fast-forwarded for about 3 minutes. We watched the ticker go from +160 to +120. Might not be related at all, but it was certainly interesting to watch on fast-forward.

He was talking about imposing some sort of excise tax on off-shore drilling because they didn't want to encourage practices that were harmful to the environment. He was asked how this was supposed to reduce dependence on foreign sources of oil. He really had no answer for that. He just said that certain areas of the economy were going to have to experience some "shared sacrifice" in getting the economy going again.

[Dante3]

I don’t recall it. But I do agree he is a horrible pick to head Treasury.

[OpeEdMunkey]

failure by the former Bush administration to make needed investments in energy security

Stop me if you've heard this one, but which party has been blocking offshore drilling, nuclear power, clean coal power, and building of new refineries?

[chimera]

Well, I blame the deficits on the fact that too many 'Rats like Geitner didn't pay what they owed (much less what their "fair share" should be) in income taxes, and the Treasury took the hit. So it's really their fault.

This "Bush's Fault" went out on 1/20/'09. It isn't gonna fly anymore. As of that date, it's only...

Obombah's Fault.

[Uri’el-2012]

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday blamed soaring budget deficits partly on failure by the former Bush administration to make needed investments in energy security and healthcare.

In October 2003, he was named president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.[15] His salary in 2007 was $398,200.[16]

Timmie has been the the problem since 2003 !!