Timothy Geithner on Jobs, Debt, Taxes, Bailouts, and More (3)

On long-term debt reduction and RyanCareThe balance between revenues and savings is so important. The House Republican budget illustrates what you have to do if you are unwilling to touch revenues. If your objective is to leave in place these exceptionally low tax rates for the most fortunate Americans, then you are going to have to dismantle the basic commitments to our seniors, to the poor and to the elderly.
It's just not realistic, it's not going to happen, it's not possible. Balance is important not just for fairness, but for the credibility of the plan.
If people up there try to solve this by assuming away the problem, by using growth assumptions that create the illusion that we are going to solve it, by assuming there will be political courage in the future, that kind of magical thinking -- then the markets will say it's not real.

Timothy Geithner on Jobs, Debt, Taxes, Bailouts, and More (2)

Will "dark forces" undermine financial reform?

It's very clear they're trying to starve the agencies of funding so they can't enforce protections for investors, and they are trying to block appointments as a way to get leverage over the outcome, and they are trying to slow down, so that they can weaken over time, those reforms.

They won't have success ultimately.

Timothy Geithner on Jobs, Debt, Taxes, Bailouts, and More

This kinda cracked me up.  One or two of you might get a chuckle as well. 
Tim Geithner on threats not to raise the debt ceiling (from Motley Fool):

"I mean, really think about it: As a negotiating strategy, you are going to go say, "If you don't do things my way I'm going to force the United States to default?" It's not a credible negotiating strategy."

On Treaury's Plan B

"Our plan is for Congress to pass the debt limit. Our fallback plan is for Congress to pass the debt limit. Our fallback to the fallback plan is for Congress to pass the debt limit."

Urges

Oh, man.  I'm gettin' that urge.  The tension between the good of the many and the good of the one is high.
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.
Live long and prosper.

Iowans are, as it turns out, idiots

I'm an Iowan. But, I gotta tell ya', this doesn't bode well for us. 

Missouri is the "show me" state.  Iowas is the "show me.  show me again.  show me something different.  I don't believe you because it's not what I want to hear" state.


http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53417.html#comments

New perspective on flying

Some perspective:
On 9/11, 4 flights were hijacked. 246 people died in aircraft that day.

According to my calculations, in any given hour in the US, 225,250 are in the air.
I arrived at this by taking flights/day in the US, and then multiplying that by an average occupancy of 106.

So, even if you were IN THE AIR at the time of the 9/11 attacks, your chances of dying were
246 in 225,250
or .001
or 1 tenth of 1 percent.

I know this is precious little comfort for those who loved the ones who died, but it does put our airport and flight safety neurosis into perspective, IMO.

Call me crazy, but I'd rather go through a normal metal detector, sit in a big, comfy seat, and take those chances. 

Next Republican Presidential Candidate

Stephen Colbert's gun with flag pin:

*chuckle*   It's funny because it's truthy.