Arizona Politics News

by David Safier This is just me being curious. I rarely write about the Goldwater Institute, and especially about Matthew Ladner's work, without getting a fairly prompt response in the Comments. Recently I've been tag-teaming with others all over the...

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

A brutal report issued last Monday by a government watchdog holds Timothy Geithner -- then the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and now the nation's Treasury Secretary -- responsible for over payments that put billions of extra tax dollars in the coffers of major Wall Street firms, most notably Goldman Sachs. Geithner Singled Out In TARP Watchdog Neil Barofsky's Scathing Report On AIG Bailout:

The authoritative new narrative describes how, while bailing out insurance giant AIG last fall, a team led by Geithner failed nearly every step of the way.

Instead of bargaining with AIG's numerous counter-parties to resolve its billions of dollars in souring derivatives contracts, Geithner's team ended up paying top dollar for toxic assets -- "an amount far above their market value at the time," the report notes.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Are Obama's economic policies actually working?

Intelligence Squared posed this question to six policy experts at a debate in New York on November 16. The statement, "Obama's economic policies are working effectively," was defended by Lawrence Mishel from the Economic Policy Institute; investor and former 'Car Czar' Steven Rattner; and Mark Zandi, the chief economist and co-founder of Moody's Economy.com.

Arguing that Obama's economic approach is failing were James Galbraith of the University of Texas; Carnegie Mellon's Allan Meltzer; and former New York governor Eliot Spitzer. (h/t Huffington Post)

OBAMA'S ECONOMIC POLICIES ARE WORKING EFFECTIVELY from Intelligence Squared US on

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

In an unprecedented defeat for the Federal Reserve, an amendment to audit the multi-trillion dollar institution was approved by the House Finance Committee with an overwhelming and bipartisan 43-26 vote on Thursday afternoon despite harried last-minute lobbying from top Fed officials and the surprise opposition of Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who had previously been a supporter. Fed Beaten: Bill To Audit Federal Reserve Passes Key Hurdle (by Ryan Grim of the Huffington Post):

The measure, cosponsored by Reps. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), authorizes the Government Accountability Office to conduct a wide-ranging audit of the Fed's opaque deals with foreign central banks and major U.