Being the former CEO of Goldman Sachs alone tells me this guy has had to make virtually “life and death” decisions concerning the fate of indivuals, corporations and nations themselves during his tenure. Rest assure that the decisions were always based on plumping the “bottomline”. / : |

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Since leaving his role as Treasury Secretary, Paulson has joined the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University as a distinguished visiting fellow, and a fellow at the university’s Bernard Schwartz Forum on Constructive Capitalism.[39] His memoir, On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System, was published by Hachette Book Group on February 1, 2010.[40]…extract from Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Paulson

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Carl Nemo **==

I also remember Obama receiving high praise from Rahm Emanuel and others for working late into the night getting Democrats on board for TARP.

TARP was a bipartisan affair.

After Ronald Reagan got massive tax cuts through a Republican Senate and conservative House in 1981 on the argument that they would spur economic growth the economy went into its then-most-serious recession since the Great Depression. Reagan then rescinded some of the tax cuts in 1982 (for the middle class, not the wealthy), raised the gasoline and cigarette taxes and increased the payroll tax in 1983 as the recession was winding down and the economy went into growth that is called the “Reagan miracle.”

As that “miracle ” was ending in 1988, Reagan cut taxes on the wealthy again and the economy started the recession that cost George Bush the Daddy his presidency. Bush, seeing the ever-expanding deficit” allowed an increase from 28% to 31% on billionaires’ incomes and the economy started a recovery. When Bill Clinton took over in 1993 he claimed the economic problems were worse than admitted and got higher taxes. And the economy began the greatest-sustained expansion in history,

Don’t believe for a second what these politicians (especially from the right) claim about taxes. Tax cuts don’t spur economic growth and tax increases don’t retard it — even increases during a recession.

And to Woody188. The gift of nearly $800-billion dollars to bankers under the TARP program was by George Bush the Deluded and his man (David ?) Paulson.

“There are some Republicans in Congress who believe that we should go borrow $700 billion from our children, and investors around the world, so that we can afford to extend these tax cuts for the most fortunate two percent of Americans,” he said on Fox Business Network. “We just don’t think that is responsible economic policy.”

Geither was fine with borrowing $787 billion from our kids to give to bankers even in other countries. I guess he’s worried double-dipping would be too obvious?

Also waste and corruption need to be ferociously pursued and those found involved prosecuted and punished. The massive, ever growing Homeland Security Dept. could be redirected to ferret out criminals who are stealing money from U.S. taxpayers rather than terrorist evildoers. We’ve met the “financial terrorist” evildoers and seemingly they are in Congress…no? : |

Carl Nemo **==

It smells like…Victory.