The press, the Senate and president-elect are all giving Tim “Timmy Taxes” Geithner a free pass on his failure to pay self-employment taxes (while pocketing the tax gross-up from the IMF) but market commentators are not taking the matter lightly. Frequent CNBC contributor David Kotek of Cumberland Advisors gets to the heart of the matter, saying in a market devoid of trust, installing a treasury Secretary with an ethical cloud hanging over him fully dilutes the “hope and change” message which swept Obama into the White House.
Dennis Gartman also had a serious go at Geithner in recent days on similar grounds. Republicans are playing softball with the issue, not want to be blamed for derailing the confirmation of a guy who is uniquely qualified for the job during a time of maximum economic stress. Not exactly a profile in political courage on their part.
