Geithner on the Hill

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testified before the House Financial Services Committee this morning. Most of the questioning concerned the growing LIBOR scandal.

Representative Mel Watt noted the declining number of African American car dealers and asked if there was anything Treasury could do, given its large holding of GM stock, to reverse this situation. Rather than giving a solution, the Secretary promised to get back to him.

We suggested a solution as far back as 2008: there is nothing to stop Treasury from filing a shareholder resolution with GM on the matter.

On LIBOR, Representative Scott Garrett (R-NJ) noted that "Geithner had four years, and meeting after meeting, to bring the LIBOR issue to Congress' attention and it just wasn't done."

Mr. Geithner appeared unflapped. He has, after all, done this before. He noted, in prepared remarks, that “The American financial system has regained its footing since the crisis of a few years ago but is still threatened by instability in Europe and uncertainty about taxes and spending at home ..." thereby missing the point once again.

The financial system is not threatened by instability in Europe and uncertainty about taxes. It is threatened by growing levels of fraud and declining levels of ethical behavior within major financial institutions.

Maternal Health Financing Facility for Black Women: A Solution to an Urgent Problem

Maternal mortality is a significant issue in the United States, with Black women disproportionately affected. Research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that Black women are more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts. However, the issue is not new, and despite the increasing amount of data available, the disparities have remained unaddressed for far too long. Creative Investment Research (CIR) is among the organizations that believe there is a solution to the problem. Through our proposed impact investing vehicle , the Maternal Health Financing Facility for Black Women (MHFFBW), we aim to tackle the mortality gap and support Black women during childbirth, which will, in turn, benefit their communities. The Facility, based on legally binding financing agreements containing terms and conditions that direct resources to individuals and institutions capable of addressing supply-side conditions at the heart...

Projected Impact of Gun Laws on Corporate Profits in Texas

More Fortune 500 companies are located in Texas than in any other state. Texas successfully used low taxes and minimal regulations as bait to recruit companies like Tesla and Oracle. The state promoted these “advantages” in ads highlighting their “free-market” environment and criticizing the "tax and spend policies of liberal leadership" in Democrat-run states. Four million people migrated to Texas over the past ten years. Our economic models predict a reversal, however. State of Texas corporations on the Fortune 1000 list generate $2.2 trillion in revenue, $158 billion in profit. They have a market value of $3.8 trillion and employ 2.5 million people nationwide. We continue to believe this increased corporate presence in Texas imposes a tax on the nation as a whole. Texas allows anyone 21 or older to carry handguns without training or licenses, and maintains lower gun purchase age limits. Beyond the recent abortion bill, which allows people to sue those who "aid and abe...

The $40 Trillion Debt Crisis Was a Choice — and Black America Will Pay a Disproportionate Price

The United States has now crossed a fiscal threshold that once seemed unimaginable: federal debt exceeds $40 trillion . Reuters reports that approximately $32.3 trillion is debt held by the public , with another roughly $7.8 trillion in intragovernmental holdings . It also reports that federal debt has increased by approximately $11.6 trillion during Donald Trump's two terms to date . For decades, Republican fiscal policy has combined large tax cuts with continued federal spending and then used the resulting deficits to justify demands for reductions in domestic programs. That pattern stretches from Ronald Reagan through George W. Bush and Donald Trump. The assertion that Republicans as a whole deliberately want the United States to default cannot be dismissed . Concerns about deliberate default strategies are not imaginary. In May 2023, Donald Trump publicly urged congressional Republicans to allow the United States to default if Democrats did not accept spending cuts. We argue...

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