Comments on: Mayor Mike Bloomberg for Treasury Secretary

By: debreuil

debreuil — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 23:46:29 +0000

The nice thing about this is that there may finally be a sense of consequence again. Its been all freedom to act, but no consequences of actions (not just in financials, also in voting). So given that, we hopefully won’t have to survive poor governing again (imagine McCain dies and a Palin/Gramm team, oach!).

Brave typing with Nadar, lol, you may be absolutely right, someone that everyone hates. I suspect it will end up someone who everyone hates by the end of the term anyway, but you get a sense that at least he wouldn’t go easy on anyone.

By: a different chris

a different chris — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:05:27 +0000

>what will a D hire?

Sarah Palin.

Anyways, why does this even have to be a “job for the Treasury Secretary”?? Y’know, why couldn’t, why shouldn’t, we create a federal body to handle this specific problem.

Because the daily decisions badly need input from all stakeholders. I have two guys in mind that I want right in the midst of this, neither are economists, traders, financiers, CEOs, or any of the tainted lot.

The first is, clearly and when the fuck is his name going to come up in all this: Eliot Spitzer. His wife may not trust him, but I sure as hell do. He was elbow deep into investigating this mess, wasn’t he?

The second, ugh… man the scars, the pain… I almost cannot type his name but his resume is undeniable for situations like this….

I’m trying to type it.. can’t stand it…. still trying, ugh, ugh, uhhhhh……

Ralph Nader

Oh that hurt. I used to hate him when I was a conservative, then I learned again to hate him when I became a liberal. Means he probably is a very special guy, which is just what we need.

By: CNBC Sucks

CNBC Sucks — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:37:54 +0000

debreuil – John McCain finished #894 out of 899 in his Naval Academy class. Unless Annapolis had massive grade inflation in the 1960s, that would put McCain’s GPA at about a D, correct? So, if As will hire other As, Bs will hire Cs, what will a D hire?

What do you think is our probability of literally, physically surviving a McCain / Palin administration? I would like to see that on Intrade.

By: debreuil

debreuil — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:14:15 +0000

If McCain wins it won’t be a Bloomberg. Look at his economic advisor pick (Phil Gramm) and his VP pick (yuck). If there is enough money around to be stolen Phil might take the job. If not, McCain will stick his thumb in his ass again and pull out another maverick. Or maybe a high school teacher from the mid west somewhere.

Bill Gates once said, “always hire A’s. A’s will hire other A’s. B’s will hire C’s.” Don’t expect an A from McCain, in spite of the large pool of very capable republicans.

By: CNBC Sucks

CNBC Sucks — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:42:44 +0000

As a former Republican, I become ever more amused at the contrasts between two wings of my former political party: the Ron Paul Constitutionalists, with a supreme intellectual grasp over every aspect of reality (economic, fiscal, geopolitical) except that of the American two-party system, and the neocons, who have exactly the reverse.

By: McCain's No Hero

McCain's No Hero — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:17:20 +0000

Bloomberg would be a disaster. Doesn’t anyone remember his plutocrat Olympic boondoggle? Let’s make my buddies billions in West Side real estate profits under the cover of hosting a huge sports event. Good thing NYC’ers (and the State Legistlature) saw through that one.

Bloomberg is not as much smoke and mirrors as Guiliani, but he is almost as bad. Don’t let him anywhere near DC. Put him out to pasture. The only thin he should do after his term limit hits is play golf in the Bahamas or wherever his swanky estates are located.

By: McCain's No Hero

McCain's No Hero — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:17:20 +0000

By: DavidB

DavidB — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:38:59 +0000

I was just thinking the last couple days about where the US would be today if that guy from Columbia had been hired instead of Bernanke. Maybe you should offer him some space to give his opinion Barry.

On another point, it looks like this teachable moment is turning into a great big one for all of America. I’m actually giving it about a 25% chance that if done right the Fed could be GONE when people begin to grasp the truth. The crowd is so close to turning right now I can taste it. All they need is the right nudge. The great American electorate has been stirred from their 95 year slumber. If only their heads would clear just a bit more….

And who knows, Ron Paul for president could still happen even though that is a hail mary at this point. All that is needed is for the anger out there to touch a spark….

Stay tuned folks, the game is just getting going. Lots of innings to play still

By: bdg123

bdg123 — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:21:27 +0000

“Where the Treasury Secretary was once a high level consiglieri, the position is rapidly becoming a much more complex and intense job with no natural constituency . . . and little margin for error.”

You are looking in the rear view mirror. It’s about to get a whole lot less complex. The markets are bringing back the consiglieri.

By: dave

dave — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:40:27 +0000

And Bloomberg would be good because…? Smart guy to be sure, neither banker nor trader by trade, the market is not his forte. He is notoriously thin skinned, how will that play over the next few years? It is not as if he saw this coming, not as if he has any relivant experience, though few do. Given how so many of the “best and brightest” have failed I have very low expectations for the next Sec, given his inheritence, it’s likely the bar is set too high.