You remember Tim Geithner, the big Wall Street honcho who was confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury even though it emerged that he had not paid his income taxes. President Obama dismissed this lapse in judgment as of no consequence, saying Tim Geithner was indispensable to the country, and the only man capable of rescuing the economy from the near bottomless pit it was left in by George W. Bush. Yes, that Tim Geithner. Or rather, this Tim Geithner.
Our Treasury Sec he pays no tax
Tim Geithner is his name
He says the IRS expacts
Us all to play the game
According to the rules laid down
By people such as he
Who laugh at those who get paid down
By year or quarterly
The rules all have an angle for
The Sec and guys like him
And guys like Charley Rangel or
The other cherubim
He was confirmed despite the fact
His taxes were not paid
For some the deck is always stacked
And allegations fade
He says he has a plan to save
The country and its folks
He says to shut our eyes, be brave
And tell each other jokes
While he in secret lays the plan
For rolling back the tide
He’ll tell us as soon as he can
But now he has to hide
The details from our very eyes
Since we don’t have a clue
What those so bright financial guys
Are really gonna do
So what is it we need to ask
Tim Geithner has in store
To pay the bills our only task
Just that and nothing more
But that was then and this is now. Robert Stacy McCain, writing in The American Spectator, tells of Mr. Geithner’s escalating war with Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), the bailout that sent hundreds of billions of dollars to such as insurance giant AIG and financial giants Bank Of America and Geithner’s pals at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Barofsky has reported that the bailout will eventually total 23 TRILLION dollars, a figure vigorously disputed by Geithner spokesmen. What is more irksome to Treasury is that Mr. Barofsky suggested strongly that Goldman Sachs and other recipients of taxpayer money should be required to report what they did with the funds so that the American people would know the money wasn’t being sent down a black hole. With polls showing the American people now believe the Obama administration has bungled the economy, with bailout billions going to political pals, it is a near certainty that President Obama will soon be looking for a scapegoat, and that scapegoat will be the once indispensable man, Timothy Geithner.
“Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?”
Cried English king Henry the Second
Words Timothy Geithner must think of, at least
As Treasury’s Tarp troubles beckoned
As billions uncounted rolled out the front door
To pals and to all he called friend
An inspector general began to explore
How much it would cost in the end
The numbers he crunched told the story of how
If continued the figures did show
That from mere hundreds millions it stood at just now
Into twenty-three trillions ‘twould grow
Obama could see that poll numbers to date
Showed the public would hold him at fault
So in order for him to continue to skate
He’ll lock Timmy in Treasury’s vault