31
prices, those firms that ought
to be expanding and hiring will
be able to get money on more
attractive terms.
The problem is that the
Geithner plan appears to me
to be too small – between
one-eight and one-half of
what it needs to be. Even
though the US government
is doing other things as well
–fiscal stimulus, quantitative
easing, and other uses of
bailout funds – it is not doing
everything it should.
My guess is that
the reason that the US
government is not doing
all it should can be stated
in three words: Senator
George Voinovich, who is
the 60th vote in the Senate
– the vote needed to close
off debate and enact a
bill. To do anything that
requires legislative action,
the Obama administration
needs Voinovich and the 59
other senators who are more
inclined to support it. The
administration’s tacticians
appear to think that they are
not on board – especially after
the recent aiG bonus scandal
– whereas the Geithner plan
relies on authority that the
administration already has.
e
Doing more would require a
legislative coalition that is not
a
c
h
i
n
L
there yet.
a
u
l
Exclusive Macau Business
P
Project Syndicate
april 2009
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