In Obama's Own Words...

"There's nothing wrong with making money, but there is something wrong when we allow the playing field to be tilted so far in the favor of so few. . . . It's a legacy of irresponsibility, and it is our duty to change it."
from the article:
The Obama Rosetta Stone
MARCH 12, 2009
By DANIEL HENNINGER
from The Wall Street Journal

Mr. Obama made clear in the campaign his intention to raise taxes on this income class by letting the Bush tax cuts expire. What is becoming clearer as his presidency unfolds is that something deeper is underway here than merely using higher taxes to fund his policy goals in health, education and energy.

The "top 1%" isn't just going to pay for these policies. Many of them would assent to that. The rancorous language used to describe these taxpayers makes it clear that as a matter of public policy they will be made to "pay for" the fact of their wealth -- no matter how many of them worked honestly and honorably to produce it. No Democratic president in 60 years has been this explicit.

The economy as most people understand it was a second-order concern of the stimulus strategy. The primary goal is a massive re-flowing of "wealth" from the top toward the bottom, to stop the moral failure they see in the budget's "Top One Percent of Earners" chart.

The White House says its goal is simple "fairness." That may be, as they understand fairness. But Figure 9 makes it clear that for the top earners, there will be blood. This presidency is going to be an act of retribution. In the words of the third book from Mr. Obama, "it is our duty to change it."
Write to henninger@wsj.com
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Reich: Geithner's "Dithering" & "Incapacity To Speak Clearly" Is "Spooking Everyone" and "Making Things Worse"

March 13, 2009 6:36 PM
by Matthew Jaffe
from ABC News

ABC News' Matthew Jaffe reports:
"Your Treasury Secretary is making things worse" is what former Labor Secretary Robert Reich would tell President Obama if he could.

On his blog today - http://robertreich.blogspot.com/- Reich accused Tim Geithner of "spooking everyone" with his "dithering" and his "incapacity to speak clearly" about what to do to rescue the nation from recession. It was all part of a post in which the Cal-Berkeley professor outlined what he would say to Mr. Obama if he were Paul Volcker, a leading economics adviser who briefed the President in the White House today.

"You may not want to hear this, but your Treasury Secretary is making things worse. His dithering on what to do about Wall Street, and his incapacity to speak clearly to the Street and to the public about what needs to be done, is spooking everyone. Why doesn't he just put the irrevocably insolvent banks into receivership under the FDIC, sell off their assets, protect depositors, and reimburse taxpayers with whatever remains? Let the rest of the banks fend for themselves -- working out their bad loans with their creditors. As to AIG, well, that's a complete basketcase. Put it out of its suffering. Take it over, sell its assets, protect policy holders (you'll need to create a big co-insurance plan with every other major insurer in the world), then get out."

Reich didn't only sound off on Geithner, but also on the administration's $787 billion stimulus package.
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