Why is this a good move? This guy sounds as bad as Geithner, another Wall Street Keysian bailout loving, Wall Stret shill:

From Wiki: Lew's nomination was followed with criticism after renewed reports that he received over $900,000 in bonuses while working as COO of Citigroup, following the company's $45 billion in TARP rescue funds, after it saw $27.7 billion in loses, a 90% depletion in value.

Also from Wiki:

In June 2006, Lew was named chief operating officer of Citigroup's Alternative Investments unit, a proprietary trading group. The unit he oversaw invested in a hedge fund "that bet on the housing market to collapse."

So Mr. Lew knows had bad things really are, and he should know about how badly the US Government is insolvent.

Mr. Lew has probably got a large side bet on it too.

Another senior level appointment of someone who never held a private industry job at a senior level . Big gov't just keeps getting bigger. When will the president begin to appoint accomplished people who have been successful in private enterprise? The stats are the number of people in his cabinet with senior private sector experience is the lowest of all presidents, ever.

He is a good community organizer, though. Knows how to raise taxes.

Norm

The problem here is that Lew, like Giehtner is too close to the private sector. We need someone to represent the interests of the American people not the financial industry. We have already had 4 years of Timmy, the banksters best friend, Giehtner.

Norm903,

Sorry but Mr. Lew did work in the private industry:

"From 2006-2008, Jack Lew was chief operating officer of Citibank's alternative investments division. And it was his division that made billions of dollars betting "U.S. homeowners would not be able to make their mortgage payments," as the Huffington Post reported.

The piece also reported: “Lew made millions at Citi, including a bonus of nearly $950,000 in 2009 just a few months after the bank received billions of dollars in a taxpayer rescue, according to disclosure forms filed with the federal government. The bank is still partly owned by taxpayers."

How can the Democrats support this man after we heard the whole election how evil they are. The hypocrisy is amazing

I've worked in the private sector for over 40 yrs and you site 3 yrs @ Citibank as private sector work. I believe most people that are in the private sector for any length of time would find that laughable.

Another Bankster puppet.

Chief of Staff Jack Lew is Obama's pick for Treasury

Hope he doesnt turn out to be one of those lewd folks at the money office

Dottie,

The remark had more to do with his job as head of alternative investments which was one of the causes of the mortgage crisis, and that he took a bonus after the taxpayer bailout. This is everything the President ran against.

I personally have no problem with him but I would love a Democrat to tell us why they support him.

Makes sense. I guess any moron can run a completely dysfunction arm of a completely dysfunctional administration, under a completely dysfunctional political and economic policy system.

norm903

Another senior level appointment of someone who never held a private industry job at a senior level
=================

Oh lovely...now the critique falls not just to 'private sector' experience, but 'private sector experience at a senior level'.

I'm certain the next iteration will be private sector at senior level with a corner office, w/personal bar.

Alan_static said: 'Why he's not in jail is beyond me.'

I feel the same way when I think about Bush, Cheney, Rice(Condi) and Rumsfeld.

Alaska,

Democrats and some Republicans have said the people in charge of these investments should be in jail, and now one of the architects is being put in charge of the Treasury, and there is no objections from the same people, no matter what you write it is still hypocritical.

Tammy, yes it is! Amazing, right wingers complaining about too many government and/or big bank people in the Obama administration yet they were quite happy with those same types of people in the Bush administration. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Hank Paulsen.....

Great job, President Obama.

This little excerpt(which if you read the entire article is quite interesting in regards to Jack Lew) was from a Mother Jones article in 2009 about Jack Lew:

For what it’s worth, one thing I don’t think liberals should get too exercised about, though they probably will, is Lew’s tenure at Citigroup, where he worked between 2006 and 2008. Lew was basically the chief administrator at Citi Alternative Investments, which runs the company’s portfolio of hedge funds and private-equity funds. That is, he was the guy who kept watch over the books and the paperwork, not a guy going out and placing multimillion-dollar bets or making hundred-million dollar deals.

Here is the link for any interested in reading:

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/01/flashback-lews-time-citi-and-other-disappointments

@ Jerry: I didn't disagree with the comment from Alan_static, I was just voicing that as far as being prosecuted and put in jail, I feel the same way about Bush, Cheney, Condi Rice and D. Rumsfeld.

You know, it's impossible to put people in jail for doing what the law permitted them to do. Deregulation made it possible so no one, right or left, should be complaining about the people who took advantage of what was legal but rather they should be complaining about the legislators and presidents who made it possible--both sides played a role in creating the dynamics that made greed and risky bets possible. And the CEO's who encouraged and rewarded the risky transactions, gave bonuses for the risk takers failures, are equally to blame but the lack of laws allowed it all.

I find it odd that conservative posters complain about anyone President Obama appoints who may have had ties to Wall Street yet on any given day, those same conservative posters complain about Dodd/Frank stifling capitalism. Well, those fat cats on Wall Street's untethered capitalism had a price tag, and the American people paid the price.

Oops, sorry, don't know what I was thinking about! The article is actually a Jan. 2012 article, not 2009!

Jody,

I do not think Republicans are complaining about this guy, but we are wondering why Democrats are not complaining as it goes against everything they said during the election?

What they did was actually not legal. They bundled bad mortgages and sold them as a fund knowing they would not be paid back, but never disclosed it to the investors. This is why they are settling with the government.

Well lets put em all in jail Alaska!

Considering this guy has previous (and possibly current) ties to Citigroup, his bonuses around TARP time, and the fact that Obama just extended the major tax breaks for Citigroup (along with GE and others), this guy has no business getting into this position. He was (and is) part of the reason our economy is where it's at, so why should he be allowed in a position that will let him be even more greedy and allow more cronyism.

This guy is everything that libs supposedly hate, so why are they supporting him? And why are libs supporting obama for the corporate welfare extension while letting our tax cuts expire?

I really don't understand libs.

Why are Democrat Elected Officials silent on these appointments? Because, more than anything, they want to keep their power.

In any case, I just cannot believe that the only people qualified to lead the govt are status quo white men.

...found Lew "disrespectful and dismissive" and "obnoxious" during the talks.

A 57 year-old native of New York City...

notice any correlation in those 2 comments?

Another Obama sock puppet gets a high ranking job without having the credentials for the position.

All praise Obama for a worthy administrator. Can he correctly file his tax return?

alexm This guy is everything that libs supposedly hate......................

So if the libs should hate this guy why don't you republicans like him. He is everything you guys idolize. He's from the private sector and a banker. I thought thats where the job creators come from. When did you republicans stop idolizing Wall Street and big banks? I just recall you guys wanted tax breaks for the rich. You guys wanted Mitt Rmoney for President and he embodied all everything you are complaining about. You republican/tea party people are so two faced. Oh its just dawned the only reason you a$$ holes don't like him is that he is the Presidents pick.

Looks like Obambam gets another gold star for mommy liberal! I wonder if Oblameo actually has a level at which he becomes ashamed of his personal selection criteria. We already know what Mooshelle is ashamed of--US!

Jack Lew ya say ??......He's another one that can be counted as a Green Job, recycled from the Bill Clinton Administration.....

I wonder how all the Anti-Semites that frequent here feel about P.0bama picking one of these to be in charge of all the money in the United States ?!?!?!?!?

"Jacob Joseph "Jack" Lew"

Lew is an Orthodox Jew who observes the Jewish Sabbath ^[46][47] and attends Congregation Beth Sholom. ^[48]

Interviewed in a 2010 article, Lew's former boss on the National Security Council, Sandy Berger, commented that "Lew's faith never got in the way of performing his duties."^[46] Berger also said that Lew's commitment to his family was also extremely important, but that Lew "was able to balance the requirements, which was very, very hard—and he was determined to observe his religious traditions."^[46]

A 2011 press release from the Religion News Service noted that Lew also "has extensive connections in the American Jewish community," and that he might be able to help President Obama "build a more friendly rapport" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.^[49]""

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Lew

Jack Lew is a complete liar. He has lied in testimony to Congress nd on National television. Is is such a liar that in the negotiations for the "Big Deal" Boehner had to call Biden and inform him that they could negotiate with Lew no longer because he was a partisan hack who constantly lied to them. Biden took over negotiations thereafter.

This is just another "in-your-face" jab at Congressional Republicans. It signals that there will be no concessions and no compromise from the White House. Fine. The nation will continue to suffer while Obama plays power games.

How long will it be before John McNasty and his little clone Lindsey start their unending whineathon about this guy?

So if the libs should hate this guy why don't you republicans like him. He is everything you guys idolize. He's from the private sector and a banker. I thought thats where the job creators come from. When did you republicans stop idolizing Wall Street and big banks? I just recall you guys wanted tax breaks for the rich. You guys wanted Mitt Rmoney for President and he embodied all everything you are complaining about. You republican/tea party people are so two faced. Oh its just dawned the only reason you a$$ holes don't like him is that he is the Presidents pick.

I'm not a republican, I'm not a democrat. Unlike most of you, I think with my own mind and will not be told what to think by a party since both parties are mired in greed and power.

So I think that cuts your personal rant pretty much down.

Good day.

What treasury ?

There's nothing there. Maybe he can be Chief of Obamas debt.

This Dumbama jerk really is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Wow, the first time around he got nothing but trash and it looks like he is not doing any better now, if not worse.

What a jerk of a president! He should hold hands with Carter - they are both useless.

Of course not.

It's a liberal game now.

Clinton signed the bill that started the ball rolling and even though the ball went flat, the liberals still want to pump it up.

FDR was a liberal. Corporate democrats like Clinton and Obama are not really liberals. They are something else entirely.

Yes they are.

They are con artists.

And Obama gets the gold in that area.

Oblameo is actually a bandito--closely aligned with Mexican job thieves.

Turbo Tax Timmy is merely getting out now before our economy crashes under the impending weight of Obama's ever-growing debt loads. Buh Bye ! Please don't let the door hit you in the a$$ when you leave.

I wonder if Timmy-boy ever caught up on his back taxes or if he was too busy screwing over the actualy taxpayers to deal with his own problem.

News Flash: Democrats call Republicans the party of White Rich Men and all of the President nominees for his cabinet are Rich White Men.

New Flash: President runs a campaign against bankers and appoints the head of the division of Citibank that was in charge of the bad mortgages and took a bonus of almost $1 million after the government (taxpayer) bailout.

It is not the Republicans who are complaining, we are wondering why the Democrats aren't. This man was head of derivatives for Citibank and received a bonus of almost $1 million after the government bailout. Isn't this everything the President ran against and everything Romney was criticized for?

My question is where is the outrage from the liberals against this man?

He is Obama's pick. Any objections should be voiced in his confirmation hearings.

So just to make sure on your point, just because the President chose him, you are OK with the man that ran the alternative investment program for Citibank, who according to the Huffington Post, the man who made money by giving mortgages to people who could not pay them, the man who took $1 million bonus after the government bailout, to be in charge of the finances of the United States Government?

Ar

Yes. Couldn't be any worse than Poindexter, Libby, Cheney, Bradbury, Gonzales, Miers, Yoo, etc., etc. If Lew is unqualified for the position, let it come out in the hearing.

Well at least he is from Citibank for a change rather than the usual Goldman Sachs. I wonder if they are going to take turns running the country from now on?

Rev,

Don't forget the head of the Office of Management and Budget is a former Bain Capital Executive.

wood -- at least you are honest and say anyone obama picks is fine by you regardless of anything else.

sad, but honest.

Why should liberals be outraged, Jerry? It takes someone who understands banking, finance, and how things work in private business to run the agencies that oversee them. I like and respect Mr. Lew and am not about to complain because he worked at some financial institution and made money at his job doing what was perfectly legal at the time. I sure as heck don't want some guy running the Dept of Treasury whose only financial experience is having a personal check book and a savings account.

You know what angered me about President Bush? It wasn't appointing former Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulsen to run the Treasury Department, it was his appointing "heckofajob Brownie" to run FEMA and Brownie's only experience was running fancy horse shows.

What is worse is the completely phony outrage expressed by conservative posters, most of whom would complain no matter who President Obama appoints to anything.

First I agree completely with you on the FEMA pick as it made no sense at all and caused much more misery for many people than they should have endured.

I agree that the head of the Treasury should have banking experience and should be known to the Wall Street community but I think liberals should be upset because this is a guy who after receiving TARP bailout money took a $1 million bonus while his company lost a fortune.

You also state that what he did was legal and I say it wasn't. They were taking mortgages that they knew were bad, and packaging them as funds which they sold to small investors, pension funds, etc. The part that is illegal is they never disclosed their knowledge of the bad mortgages.

I would also add that what Romney did was legal, but we heard Democrat after Democrat complain about his actions as head of Bain, so shouldn't the standards be the same?

So what if the head of Office Management and Budget is a former Bain employee? I may not have a high opinion of vulture capitalism firms but I also recognize that within Bain there were and are smart, savvy, qualified and capable people. While I did not like Mitt Romney and posted comments about what Bain did to a number of profitable businesses, I never once said that Romney was not a smart and capable business man.

Jerry, it was LEGAL to do exactly what they did. It is also legal for people to short the market by betting that stocks will lose and making a profit on that bet if they're right. Doesn't make it moral or ethical but it is legal. That is my point. What is legal is too often different from what is ethical and morally right. I have yet to know or hear about anyone who turned down a bonus no matter the circumstances. Don't blame the bonus recipient for accepting the bonus when it was the higher ups who made the decision to give them. It's the old don't shoot the messenger scenario in reverse.

BTW, bonuses for failure make me angry as well. But I don't think we can blame the people who took them as much as we should blame the ones who felt those bonuses were deserved.

Jody,

It is legal what they did but the failure to disclose the risk is the part that is illegal. They were sold as a bundling of mortgages, but the banks knew that a large portion was never going to be paid back and did not disclose that part.

The people who shorted the market did know this and that is why they shorted and made billions.

Again I have no problem with him and no problem with him accepting the bonus, my problem is the people who support him after we just went through an election where the same people called Romney every name for doing much less.

Stocks are up this morning.

woodbutcher. I know, but it was higher before the POTUS announcement then it tool a dive. Look at the daily chart trend.

Yes Dick, he wants to break the back of the US.

Sheesh...

Good grief, conservatives are quite quick to blame anything coming from the White House for a stock market dive but never say a word when the stock market rises. Pay attention, the stock market takes a dive when somebody in Europe sneezes and then rises when somebody says, never mind--allergies.

Yes I remember when the republicans on here said the stock market was crashing when the Supreme Court upheld health care. Its a shame that the republicans want to see the country fail. Thats what one reads in their posts.

I vote to veto chopped peppers on the pizza.

You do know that Jews voted 70% for President Obama

Not sure about it Jerry.

I have mixed feelings about Israelis, Jewish Americans; Are they US citizens or they are just guests (extended stay) whose hearts and mind are w/Israel?

Benjamin's pointless insistence on US taking action (Attack Iran) understandably irritated Obam. And Benji - fueled largely by Jewish Americans - almost become a cheerleader for Romney.

I would love to think your 70% claim is correct, but I doubt it.

Jewish Americans probably voted 30% for Obama (Claiming a higher voter percentage is just a smart tactic by Jewish Americans - so that Obam will not be even more irritated).

Of the 30%, probably 50% is gay, and foreign policy is not a priority for them.

The other 50% of the 30% are solid Jewish democrats for whom foreign policy issues do not mean jacs*it and their priorities are aligned with US interests, not Israel.

Exit polls indicate that President Barack Obama received 69 percent of the Jewish vote Tuesday.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/jewish-voter-exit-polls_n_2084008.html

I am a Jewish American who voted for Romney but I am not an Israeli and my allegiance is to the United States as it is with almost all Jewish Americans. We can move to Israel anytime we choose but stay here for all that this country offers.

We support Israel because we feel it is in the best interests of the United States to have a strong ally in that part of the world with the same ideals and morals that we have here.

I showed a source for what I said now can you please tell me a source for your numbers and why do you thing gay people do not care about foreign policy, do you think they only care about gay issues.

You also think all of us Jews get together an come up with a plan to vote one way but answer polls another way, because I missed that meeting and I live in Miami where there quite a few Jews so now I feel left out and my ego is hurt.

Jerry,

I am just speculating that jewish vote was lower. Why would people being polled lie? I do not know. Maybe they wanted to look like they were on the side of the winner - not to antagonize the winner.

No, its not in our best interest to "unconditionally" support Israel. That is what fundementally wrong with Jewish american thinking.

No, I am not saying gay people do not care about foreign policy. its just that they have so many other things to worry about first. gay marriage etc..

No, I am saying Jewish Americans gather and make secret plans. But, the bond between people with Jewish heritage is so strong, it is becoming a problem for others. Nothing wrong with the bonding, due to history, jews do need to be supportive of each other.

But, I have a huge problem with the other side of bonding issue: Just look at and listen to media: MSNBC line up with Chuck T, Rachel M, D gregory. These are people I admire in many ways and views. yet, when the issue is about Israel, they act like they are clueless, dumb idiots.

I expect these guys and many other jews in the media say: "hey, what is wrong with hagel's statement of claiming to be US Senator, not Israeli senator".

After all, we as Americans, do not want our ally Israel to imprison palestinians, kill women & children at will etc. US is almost alone (Except some banana republics) in defending the Israeli brats.

C'mon, XD Shooter, it's now Snoop Lion.

lol!

No, the GOPers brought us the fiscal cliff and republican Ben Bernanke gave it a name.

Yep, that's exactly what need--more of the same!

Isn't that what those in the Bush administration did? What a silly comment. The majority of voters elected President Obama twice, same as Bush 43, and those same voters expect that the cabinet and appointed staffers views and decisions will be in line with the elected President's policies. That's why Presidents get to choose who they want to be head of different agencies and departments. It's the way it's always been.

What, don't this liberal's comments count? Ever occur to you that people sometimes are busy and simply don't have time to spend here? I'm retired and today I'm not busy elsewhere. Had a nice chat with JerryL above.

Jody,

And we did not even call each other names, they might blacklist us.

George = Another Obama Basher..

Man dude, you are irrelevant at this point. Why? Because Obama is the president (twice) and you mad as hell. Good... You can't do nothing about it either. Pathetic Little right wing fool!!

tom joad Did you complain when president bush picked Henry Paulson from Goldman Sacks to run the treasury ?

bill depp, in the words of GOPer Sarah Palin, "you betcha"!