CNN

no, it was agreed to before his tenure.

Ah, gee...yet another question about who to hang for the AIG issue.

OK, Geithner made a mistake, Dodd made a mistake, and President Obama made a mistake in letting these guys make mistakes. Everyone happy, yet? The neocons are forgetting that Geithner was one of Bush's fair-haired boys, before he was Obama's!

You know the biggest mistake, Jack? That we aren't all looking in the mirror when we ask who is responsible. The 30+ years of the "Greed is Good" creed is coming home to roost. Almost ALL of us are a part of that! We always want more...more than we need, more than we know what to do with, and more that we have a right to.

You want to ask a pithy question? Ask why noone is paying attention to the commentary on CNN about the G-20 Conference by Jeffery Sachs! How billions of people in the world are dying of starvation while farmers here are paid NOT to farm. Why humanitarian aid crucial to the survival of millions if not billions of people, including some in our own country, is being ignored while people are screaming over the bonuses paid per contract agreement.

Jack
No of course not.How about giving these guys a chance gee-whiz.,I know there will be some start up errors on all fronts.However I think we need to hold our fire until President Obama and his choices at
least have a chance.I am sure Tim is trying his best to do his job and
I think we need to be fair.To place a standard so high the no one can
reach is not fair,so I say lets be at least fair.
David

It seems like the American public just wants to fire everyone who has something to do with the economy. Even those that are trying to help. People are talking about firing Geithner like the republicans are trying to make people feel Obama's term is almost over and he's made the economy worse. These two men haven't had a chance to warm up their desk chairs and people already are chewing their heads off. Geithner shouldn't be fired, but he should start making some progress soon before Obama has no choice but to find someone who can.

He should be fired, but not because of the AIG scandals. Anyone who isnt smart enough to pay their own taxes (or is trying to not pay them) should not be the head of the U.S. Treasury, period. It is a disgrace.

No Jack Tim Geithner shouldn't be fired, but he should be heavily reprimanded and watched closely. This is not a time when we can be making these type of decisions, we had enough of that with Bush.

Are people absolutely crazy? Of course Timothy Geithner should NOT be fired! Like most Americans, I am outraged by the huge bonuses which were given out to the executives at AIG but, what disgusts me equally is the way in which Congress is reacting to it. I am a political independent and have, for many years, been upset and disappointed in the purely selfish, petty and political way in which our elected officials resolve the problems of the country. Although the overall “favorability” ratings for Congress has been at historic “lows”, I still maintained some faith that the Democrats would show a little more statesmanship and maturity than the Republicans. Instead, what I’ve seen is a bunch of political “hacks” trying to “one up” each other by putting forth some of the most ridiculous, and likely illegal, proposals aimed at placing blame and punishing individuals and financial institutions for abhorrent, but legal, practices which had long been irresponsibly ignored by lawmakers for many years. In this particular case, the horse has left the barn but it’s not too late to close the barn door for the future. The ~$175 million which has been paid out so far in AIG bonuses, although large in most people’s minds, is a relative “drop in the bucket” to the ~1.8 billion which had been given to the company in “bail out” money. The damage to the country and the distraction away from Obama’s financial recovery plan that is being caused by Congress and others is reprehensible. It’s time to get over it and move on with the country’s business. What the country needs is some adults in Congress.

No Jack, Tim Geithner shouldn't be fired, but he should be heavily reprimanded and watched closely. This is not a time when we can be making these type of decisions, we had enough of that with Bush.

My guess is he probably will lose his job. Don't know if that's the right thing but my guess is the noise will not come down until someone is gone. I hope the President has someone in mind that can step in quickly. (With out any vetting issues, that is.)

Arlene in Atlanta

He should not be fired -he inhereted the mess from a blind Republican Administration.

Let those executives at AIG suffer the slings and arrows of defeat for a change. Who in their right mind would want to hire such arrogant meglomaniac executives who spend twenty four hours a day obssessed with coming up with new corrupt way to destroy their employer and then expect to have their contractual arrangements honored. Let those who brought down AIG fall on their swords. They deserve only scorn for how they have handed the Nation's business.

Has anyone considered whether this move (putting in the legislation to protect the bonuses, then acting all outraged and effectively seizing the money back) might have been deliberate in order to set a precedent of government intervention in the interest of "fairness"? One wonders what might be next – the government taking over bailed out businesses that it deems are being too wastefulor inefficient in their operations, in the interest of protecting the investors' (taxpayers') money. Will the government start seizing or freezing the assets of the wealthiest Americans as they start pulling their money out of the market and banks in a massive flight of capital to avoid paying massive taxes to pay for Obama's programs? These are questions we have to ask ourselves and the administration.

Jack, Timothy Geithner should not be fired unless Senator Dodd and all the politicans in Congress who took over $5 billion in political contributions are fired.

John from Alabama

Absolutely not. I realize that this is part of the Republican agenda and they would love to see him fired. They are for anything that will help Obama Fail. America must listen to their self appointed leader before it is too late. Dear old Rush is doing everything he can to destroy this country and this would assist him in his quest.

No. Find one person better and we can compare them.

No. Sure, it could have been handled differently, but we are actually seeing some light at the end of the tunnel and sacking Geithner will only send the economy back into another tailspin.

Jack, the whole financial mess from to to bottom reveals the pervasive "me first" attitude of all Americans. This applies not only to the AIG schmucks, but also to the Americans who mewel about bank bailouts because they are not getting a bailout themselves. They are insufficiently aware of the reality that without a rescue of the financial system there "me first" personas will be crushed like a speeding freight train right in there collective kissers. Everyone needs to step back and rise above there personal meweling and support what is best for the country as a whole.

Absolutely NOT - To put everything in a nut-shell ::: It is a fact that Geithner inheritied the TARP mess - Bush & Co allowed AIG and others to provide writen "retention" (bonus) guarantees for executives as part of their half of the TARP bailout (at the instance of the Rushicans (repubicans) - Geithner's staff told the people who were hammering out the final draft of the bill that if they tried to block payment of bonuses by AIG and others approved by BUSH & Co, they would be facing a law suit - Now the Rushicans (republicans and democratic followers of Dear Leader Rush) are trying to blame Geithner and Obama instead of standing up to their own shortcomings --

I think most big corp all need to be spanked, along with most involved with realestate!
About AIG, how do the country become so dependant upon a company? I say the country is already a mess, let it go beofer it cost us even more. The horse is dead, take the loss and move on.
Seems odd, that one of the Kennedy boys was so adimate about busting the teamters unions, years ago.. true he didn't like the Teamsters people, but I recall one of the comments something like this, "No one person or company should have so much power to control interest. Some one could confirm that for me, I was young and when I heard that on TV, that was the message I got out of it.
So agian, greed, let big biz "control" the the country.
Full circle, and by nessesity, mom and pop companies will be the salvation of out country.. thats getting back to basics!

Jack,
Why isn't anyone talking about the bonus Joe Cassano got when he left AIG – 228 million cash, 34 million bonus plus a consulting contract fro 1 million per month? The contract was later cancelled. Congress knew about this and never did anything to stop it.

Joe Cassano was the head of the FP group.

Makes the 165 million look silly.

geithner should be fired for the bailouts. however, congress should be fired over taxing the bonuses. Precedent is a dangerous thing. How soon until congress starts taxing you 90% for doing things deemed undesirable or you are making too much money

Definitely not. Geitner is just a focal point for the dissemblers. The politician's uproar, outrage and lividity over the bonuses is a distraction from the real issue. Has Congress done its job by allowing the leveraging of assets by financial institutions that got us into this mess? Did they do their job when they approved the payments? Are they doing their job now by passing legislation they know is Unconstitutional to appease an outraged public?

How many millions of dollars are being wasted and how much time is being wasted in these illegal efforts? What will the legal fees be after all of the challenges to this insanity? What happens when Congress decides to zero in on another segment of our society, perhaps taxing blacks twice as much as whites or maybe taxing left-handed people 20% more than right-handed individuals.

It is time to answer President Obama's call for public service by ridding ourselves of the professional politicians. They have proven and are proving that experience has very little to do with performance. A Constitutional Amendment for term limits for all elected officials would ensure this. Remember, the Senate just voted themselves their annual cost of living increase. This will be paid for with the tax revenues on the unemployment benefits of those Americans who are truly and dramatically effected by the financial crisis. So tell me Jack, who should be fired?

Jack,

Fired and investigate who ever sign off on this scam. But wait, who going to do the investigating? AG Holder? Right, that's like having the Chicken Hawk investigate the chicken house.

WilliamTell
Buffalo, NY

No, it would make too much of a panic for the markets, the media, reflect poorly on the administration, and provide more partisan attacks on Obama. Geithner, while far from perfect, deserves more guidance and help rather than condemnation.

Let's just hope he doesn't do something like this again anytime soon.

Jack, why should Geithner be fired?? Excuse me but we wouldn't have these problems if the former Prez and administration and the GOP and all those greedy CEO'S didn't drag us over the cliff. So he put that phrase in because he thought they couldn't break the contract, if they would have stopped the bonusus can you imagine the GOPERS they would be running before the camers screaming socialist because the government's messing with peoples pay!

I hate to say this is small and not that important but it is true. A newcomer to the federal government, who has been burdened with some of the greatest responsibilities in history, who has not had a chance to hire or promote quality staff, goofed on accepting legal advice when interacting about legislation with the committee chair on something that is 1/1800 th of the real issue and is regarding something done by someone else and is unforeseen by him. The problem is AIG and government in general, NOT Geithner. Let Obama put some of the toothepaste back in the tube and spend time solving problems not in reacting to the media.

Probably should be fired but I doubt that will happen. He probably won't even be sent to bed without supper for screwing this up.

An "OOPS, MY BAD" seems to be the ticket to absloution these days in Washington.

NO! He dug the hole, let's see if he can get out or be buried in it.
That will save all the red tape + the whinning everyone would do-maybe not everyone.
He's just got to get his head away from wallstreet and on to main street. I think he'll be OK, he is very intelligent, I'm saying that on a comparsion basis.
Have a great Spring season!

I'm not a fan of Geithner because his ties to those he's charged with policing are too close. The bonuses are like the proverbial straw breaking the camel's back. Whether or not he leaves is a decision for President Obama to make. I have every faith in our president because I believe he is the smartest guy in the room and I honestly expect he will be successful. I'll defer to his judgement.

Jack,

No, Geithner should not be fired. He's a smart guy who can get things done. His approach to the retention bonuses for AIG personnel to close the book on their bad hedge fund assets was fundament risk management. I applaud him and Mr. Liddy for that thinking.

Do I like the retention bonuses? No, but it really makes sense. AIG has come a long way in reducing their toxic assets by these same people.

Geithner, get your team together now! But no, don't give him the boot.

Maybe, but definitely fire Neel Kashkari. He has been in charge of TARP since Paulson and Bush started asking for blank checks.

Yes, and this would only be one of several reasons. The Geithner train was on the wrong track right from the beginning. Now it is derailed. No mas!

Based upon what's been presented Geithner has betrayed the trust of the American public. & for the sake of the Obama administration he needs to distance himself from all of this chaos & drama.

Yes. He never should have been appointed to begin with. Obama knew his connections with Wall Street and his tax problems. If kept on he will be Obama's Waterloo. He even looks guilty during his interview. He can't even look the camera directly into the lens. His head hangs - in SHAME.

Tim Geithner was a bad choice from the start. Unfortunately Obama doesn't have a replacement and was sold a bill of goods as to him being the only hope. If he does go, get a bus Pelosi, Reid, Dodd, Frank....... everyone take a seat!! You want change- Clean house!!

Don't we need to know more first? My take on Mr. Geithner,though, is that he may be like Summers-brilliant but not the man to have before the cameras.

Jack, No body did anything to fire G.W.B. To me , he did alot worse things than Geithner.

Timothy Geithner is a dedicated, intellegent man who lives to fix our economic problems. How about cutting him a little slack, and letting him do his job. I don't think 60 days is enough time to unscrew the mess created by a lack of oversight in the banking industry these many years. Clearly the congressional republicans are a bunch of whiners who are worried about their own hides, they're not the ones without a job or healthcare. It seems they think their job these days is to put a stop to any progress the Obama administration makes on the economy.

Jack,
If we want to talk about who should be fired, Geitchner would not be the one who should gets the ax. The village idiots that voted for this stimulus package in the first place and the ring leaders that believe that big government can fix every problem that we have in this country, should get their pink slips. This president has broken most of his promises already and is making a great argument that the American people chose the wrong man at the wrong time for this job.. While were at it, Lets fire the voters who were dupped into believing that there was real change coming to Washington.
Gerald- Orange county.

There seems to be so many more important things for us to be worrying about right now. After 8 years of conduct that has nearly bankrupted this country, Mr. Geithner, with the full, clearly-stated support of the President, needs our support as well. There comes a time when we need to believe in something.

NO, but he should get a good haircut.

Over the bonuses, are you joking? I can't believe they spent this much time on it, is this really the best use of resources? They hired a turnaround CEO with the mission of returning the TARP money. Let him do his job.

If Washington is going to stay focused on these bonuses, lets get full disclosure on exit packages for Geithner, Freddie/Fannie and every other government agency executive – since they are all funded by my tax payer dollars also.

They spend the whole day talking about bonuses, yet they slip through another $5bn for the auto industry (suppliers) and it ends up on the back page. Take their checkbook away!

Michael

The truth about insolvent companies is that sometimes the people who made the mess are the only ones who have the information which the outside professionals need to fix the problem. Hence, while holding your nose you pay those mess makers incentives to keep them on board and provide that information. In the long run, that’s the most economic solution. I’m sure that is what Mr. Geithner had in mind regarding AIG. If Geithner had said “Yes, I knew about the bonuses and allowed them for these reasons”, he may have been criticized for the decision but at least it would be out in the open. By being coy he has created a maelstrom for himself and the president. If he’s to be fired it should be for that and not the original decision.

It would be a great start.....Problem is – who do we have as a replacement? (He's supposed to be Obama's best???)

YIKES!!

Not only should Timothy Geithner be fired but there should be an internal investigation as to why the supposed "behind closed doors" legislation was put into the bill and the bonus exclusion taken out. This way the polity of this country can see most of the representatives for what they really are: aristocratic pompuses who actually believe they can say one thing and then do another simply because they feel empowered by their own egos to do so. Both Republican and Democrat alike.

However Donald Rumsfield should have been fired ...but then a president would had to admit he was wrong.

Thr right wing talking radio heads think so but they haven't explained how that changes the bailout package that was passed by congress or retrieves all that bonus money for the taxpayers. Getting Geitner fired would be a great coup for the republicans in the next election cycle which is a greater priority to them than healing this wounded economy. I hope secretary Geithner ignores all these bloviating blowhards and sticks to fixing our broken economic sytem

Not only should Timothy Geithner be fired but there should be an internal investigation as to why the supposed “behind closed doors” legislation was put into the bill and the bonus exclusion taken out. This way the polity of this country can see most of the representatives for what they really are: aristocratic pompuses who actually believe they can say one thing and then do another simply because they feel empowered by their own egos to do so. Both Republican and Democrat alike.

However Donald Rumsfield should have been fired …but then a president would had to admit he was wrong.

Gene Mitchell
Macon, GA

Let the man do his job, I think he's doing good considering he doesn't have a deputy and is still missing chairs, If anyone can do better than the Former Fed Chairman, or can help him out step to plate. I hear there are still some openings. Otherwise shutup and let the man work.

Good job Mr. Geithner

I think he deserves a little more time to work through these issues. It's not like he didn't have a huge pile of problems dumped on his plate from day one. Give the man a chance to show what he can do.

Let's allow one more strike and he's out.

Let the man do his job, I think he's doing good considering he doesn't have a deputy and is still missing chairs, If anyone can do better than the Former Fed Chairman, or can help him ( and the U.S.) out step to the plate. I hear there are still some openings. Otherwise shutup and let the man work.

The scandal would've been bigger if 73 former AIG representatives sued the US for singling them out in a bill.

Good job Mr. Geithner

The majority of our representatives voted to tax the AIG retention bonuses out of existence. Although I'm no constitutional scholar, I am sure this is unconstitutional. Oh, the righteous indignation of our elected officials. Seems none of our congressmen knew that an exception had been made in the AIG agreement to allow the bonus to be paid. Senator Chris Dobb denied knowing of the exception only to fess-up the next day. They are surprised, angered and flabbergasted that this could have happened. What they were surprised about was the mood of their constituents and moved quickly to take action. We may have become accustomed to arrogant but incompetent politicians but one thing I still find it difficult to accept is down-right stupidity. I watched most of Mr. Liddy's, AIG CEO for the past 6 months who draws a salary of $1 a year, interrogation (I mean interrogation). Most, not all, of our representatives relentlessly berated Mr. Libby as if he had caused the AIG debacle. He didn't. And if I were him I wouldn't have only made fools out of his interrogators, which he did, but I would have tendered my resignation. He was about the only one who make any sense.

However difficult it may be to accept these retention bonuses, it may be the right thing to do at this time, under these circumstances. President Obama and Secretary Geithner appear to understand the situation. I'm not defending the administration. Tim Geithner has a lot of strikes against him beginning with his failure to pay his payroll taxes. He has known all along the retention bonus exception was in the recovery bill. He is the one who put it there. Everybody should have known it; I knew it. It's been in the news for more than a month. So the Obama Administration and Congress are culpable not so much for including the exception in the legislation but for underestimating the reaction of the American people and then feigning surprise and anger.

We'd better keep Tim Geithner and EdwardLiddy; we are too far into the game to change now. The subject of the incredibly excessive compensation of wall street whiz kids can be addressed in due time. By the way, Senator Dodd should resign. This time I'm with the majority of Republicans who voted against the 'tax the retention bonuses' bill. Just let Edward Liddy do his job.

Where was this hang 'em now attitude when Bush was screwing up seven days a week right up to his last hours in office?

"Everyone I know well enough to call my friend makes mistakes" (Tim Hardin)

If Geithner had been spending time on these millions, would we be hollering his priority should be the Billions?

AS long as Boehner and McConnell continue throwing monkey wrenches in the works, things will fall through the cracks as our rescue team is forced to do political damage control .

I want transparency... I want congress and the president under oath. SEN Dodd has some very interesting things to say and lets make sure we know who the fingers SHOULD be pointed at.

We need to know the truth ... THE FULL TRUTH.

Pres OBAMA ran on transparency so LETS SEE SOME SIR

No more dog and pony show.

Are they working for
WE the PEOPLE or themselves?

Jack, I must tell you I am disapointed in you, I never thought you'd fall for the republican talking point machine.

The bail out rules established with AIG were done by Paulson, who sent AIG some $150 billion well before Obama got elected. Geitner had nothing to do in establishing the origional rules.

If the rules had been changed in regards to the first 150 billion, the feds would have opened themselves up to massive lawsuits from AIG and others.

Looking for someone to blame-blame Paulson-not Geitner.

It seems most folks know very few facts about why timothy geithner was the man who arranged the rescue and sale of bear stearns (march 2008)and was pivotal in the first AIG rescue plan as well as the decision to Not save Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy, he was involved in the september meetings that concluded AIG would need more bailouts and has a very detailed understanding of what was going to happen in regards to retention bonus payments. maybe he can back peddle to the members of congress on personal tax issues but not on this mess.

Well Jack, with more upcoming payoffs to the ones that made the mess, Nortel here in Canada and the US, the Fanny and Freddie deals, and a ever going list that gets bigger every day, wants to be done?

If with this slap on the wrist that all involved at the government level most likely got from Obama, someone has to go. It’s never too early to stick to your promises, and Pres Obama has said he will take the rap, well along with that goes taking action.

If this continues someone will have to leave the White House, and for sure that will not be the Prez.

No. Its been 8 weeks and he has a pile of poop to sift through with URGENCY... or else. He is smart and he cares. Leave him alone and let Volker speak, if necessary. We should just watch cautiously and inteligently and not get caught up in the drama of POLITICS. Sorry Rebublicans you should find another issue to use that doesnt stall the economic recovery. we are hurting!

No Jack. They need to find financial minds (who have diligently paid their own taxes) and appoint them to help Geithner. He is trying to do this on his own...

This retention bonus is a distraction away from the REAL idiots right there in congress. These people need to get their heads out of the sand, read their own legislation, and be accountable.... Instead of putting their hands in each other's pockets.

I am voting against every incumbent on the next ballots that I see.

NO-Did you watch the president talk about this on Leno? Move on to the 10M office rennovation!

Don't fire Geither. Fire the Republicans who caused the mess in the first place. Oh, come to think of it we already started doing that in the last elections.

No,

If it was important to the government that limits be placed on AIG employee compensation, it should have occurred before they wrote the first $80 billion check. The smart move would have been to require AIG to re-write employee contracts, before they accepted a dime. Treasury was correct to be concerned about the legal ramifications of 'back-dating' these contracts, after AIG had already collected $173 billion.

It is outrageous that these employees accepted these payments, but it is equally outrageous to assign blame to the folks seeking solutions, after the money had been spent.

Rick, Medina, OH

Geithner is obviously not up to the job and always looks like a deer caught in the headlights. This position is too critical and there's no time for on the job training. President Obama, it's time to roll a head or two!

Hell No he shouldn't be fired!! President Obama and Geitner have already stabilized the economy from the abyss in less than two months. Republicans have drove us into a ditch for 8 years and for the democrats to dig us out already; they should really be getting Awards.....
The republicans have NO credibility at all. They are out for a witch-hunt. Anything that happens slightly negative with the administration they want to cry doom and gloom and say there is no possible way to recover.

not sure , but where is all this transparency everyone talked about ? we need 100% transparency

I'm going to say No for right now.

Reason being is he is working double overtime since he can't seem to find a group of honest people from the Financial Services Pool to join his staff. With that being said, and forgive me for my cynicism, but I believe somebody worded that modification very carefully, slipped it in, and he/she sent the word out to AIG and other Corporate Executives that all was clear. If this person is Geithner, or whoever is the guilty party on his staff, then he/she must resign and there should be some research into charging him/her with a white collar crime.

Do forgive me for my level of distrust, but at least I’m not yet calling for the guillotine.

Why is it necessary for the Obama administration to pay the pennance for the previous 8 year Bush administration.
And where the hell is Paulson? Like after spending 32 years with Goldman Sachs is simply an innocent bystander. Get real people! The GOP just doesn't accept responsibility for anything. I will admit they are absolutely superior at deregulation that feeds the greed of the corporate rich.

Jack – Geithner should not be fired. Two days ago now, the head of AIG testified under oath to Congress that it was the Federal Reserve that was aware of everything that AIG was doing and it was the Fed that authorized that those bonuses be paid as of March 15th. The Federal Reserve is not part of the executive branch of government and is not subject to oversight by Congress. The other day, the Fed had a secret meeting and afterward they told the American people "oh, by the way – we're going to print another trillon dollars that will have to be backed up by the American taxpayers". If we the taxpayers have to pay for everything that the Fed is doing – then we the taxpayers should also be able to control everything that the Fed is doing. Now there's some new legislation that should make us all sleep better at night.

If they fire Geithner over the aig bonuses they should go back to december and the 4 billion merllinch gave out in bonuses before being taken over by B of A with tax payers dollars while under republican watch, and investigate the republicans who knew what was going on at the time.I believe it was a sting and the tax payers of america where the marks.

Geithner should only be fired if he negotiated these bonuses on behalf of the AIG executives and not because he fell victim to the legal circumstances requiring them to be paid.

It doesn't seem like it takes much to panic Americans and send them off on a tangent over what they perceive to be a crisis or an assault on their country. Remember, that is how the U.S. got into Iraq by taking knee jerk actions without allowing common sense to prevail.

In any event if Americans don't give Geithner their full support then I would suggest they follow the Republican policy of doing nothing other than lowering taxes for the rich, outlaw gay marriage & abortions and hope for a great big lop eared Easter Bunny to come along and fix the economy all on his own.

Geithner was a very poor selection – pure establishment . Obama touting change has pick a team of DC regulars with a few spos to the illeal immigrant lobby – WHERE IS THE CHANGE. Yes, Geithner should be fired.

No! I agree with President Obama when he said they need to govern with intelligence, not anger. I think that Geithner and his team were looking at the legal aspect of the contracts, and felt that the last thing this government needs right now is to be tied up in a court instead of doing what needs to be done to get us out of this mess.

I appreciate the rage that the American people have about this issue, but I think that rage needs to be directed at the Congress that stripped the laws away that were supposed to protect us. Instead, in an act to cover their own sins, they are leading the pack to put the blame on someone else.

Why are they not calling for Bernanki's resignation? Mr. Liddy stated that the Fed was the one in the meetings that ok'd the bonuses, and it happened during the Bush presidency. Why were the Republicans so opposed to limiting bonuses when Bush was president, and now they are outraged because this happened on the Democrats watch?

Everyone is throwing mud right now and just hoping it sticks on anyone other than themselves. How angry are the American people going to be when they find out that this stupid tax law they passed is unconstitutional? Who is congress going to blame that on?

This is Paulson's fault. Geithner inherited a huge,corrupt mess that he is uncovering every day. Let's investigate the bushies and let Geithner do his job.

Jack;
Yes, he should be fired. From the beginning, Obama failed as an executive and manager. He appointed bad choices and did not thoroughly check them out. Geithner, who had tax issues to begin with, has no business running the Treasury. If you have a leader making policy based on the POSSIBILITY of lawsuits, I'll show you a man with no backbone. Geithner should be fired and Obama and Dodd should give their 100k in contributions back to the taxpayers!

Wildwood Crest, NJ

Yes he should be replaced. Bush foolishly hired Paulson (a wall street insider) to enforce his old pals. Well, we see what that got us. Incredibly, Obama (whom I support) has made the same blunder in giving us Geithner, another insider who is also failing to go after his old buddies! We need a tough independent OUTSIDER to go after these guys!

This happened before Giethner was even nominated....remember the billions that are unaccounted for from the bailout on Bush's watch?

Lets face it these Companies have slimey attorneys to come up with rewording in contacts, loop holes.....anything to screw the tax payer or client.

It is going to take a while but President Obama will get things straightened out.

I am not happy about bailing out Wall Street while we suffer on Main Street.....but this didn't happen overnight and it won't be fixed over night.

The Republicans are just using this to pummel OBAMA......it won't work.

They ahve no solutions, they don't even have a grasp on how much theitr fellow Americans.....in the dwindling middle class, are suffering.

Jack
He should have never been hired !

Should Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner be fired over the AIG bonus scandal?

Should he be fired over the AIG scandal? No, otherwise more heads would have to roll on both sides of the aisle.

But as for just me – I haven't been all that impressed with Timothy Geithner. The nation has no confidence in him. I think it is time that he goes.

Jenna
Roseville CA

I don't think he should be fired but I don't understand how Obama can support what he did. I am not convinced that Obama did not know what was going on. If Obama did not know then Geithner has way too much power. Who knows what he will do next. On second thought he should be fired.

Jack, I don't think Geithner should be fired at this point although I think he could use some help. Many times when you go out with the old and in with the new a consultant is obtained to help with the transition. I think they should get Hank Paulson as a consultant to help Geithner until he feels comfortable in the position. It might be a good idea to get George Bush back as a consultant too.

Secretary Geithner is in no way responsible for the AIG bonus scandal. To say that he should lose his position because a few greedy execs decided to skim off their stimulus money is deplorable. This man is charged with the job of righting the sinking ship which is the American financial system, and to blame him for a couple of rogue execs stealing a lifeboat is absurd. Overall this stimulus package is saving wall street, and AIG is just one institution among hundreds which pushed a small percentage of funds in the direction of their top employees. would you blame the head of unemployment for giving out funds to a few drug addicts along with millions of out of work americans? No, Americans will always try to help themselves, especially in these dangerous economic times, and to attack one of the only people who is actually helping us is symbolic of how weak main street's understanding of this crisis is.

I believe they should fire him an set an example for all other company dummies!

This scandal should simply not be a scandal. Those people at AIG did their job as they've always done their job....they should expect a bonus just like they had in years past. It's not really their fault that the policies of the Bush administration drove the country into a free fall this last year.

Millions of Americans employed in companies that DID NOT receive federal aid this year received bonuses, even though the companies they worked for almost certainly did not reach their targets. Nobody is asking them to give back their bonuses.

Yes! Jack, you know as well as I that this happened at the direction of President Omama! You also know that if President Bush and his Treasuty Secretary Poulson the Democrats would have started Impeachment already and you would have been calling for it every hour on the hour!

Geithner may be part of the problem, but here's how he could make progress on the issue. He needs to say, "To those directly affected by the 90% bonus tax, I remind you that unemployment benefits are taxable too. Your actions are directly responsible for more damage to the economy of the world than any other group since the nazis. You are the brain power of Wall Street. How about manning up to what you've done and using some of that brain power to repair the damage. When the TARP money is repaid to the American taxpayers and your companies are once again profitably loaning money to business, you will recieve well earned bonuses. Until then, the American tax payers decline to pay you a bonus out of our unemployment benefits." George in Ohio

Him and quite a few others.

Tim Geithner is a clever but misguided insider, he forgot who he is working for, Yes, he should be fired for failing to protect the best interests of American citizens.

Phil Gallagher Cherry Hill NJ. yes to question he is a large reason we as a country are in this mess. We need new blood people to take our country in different direction better check and balance system lets get the foxes out of hen house.

HECK NO!! MR. GEITHNER SHOULD NOT BE FIRED. WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER SCREW-UP FROM THE YOU KNOW WHO. You know the idiots that just left the white house. Give me a Break, America need to wake up, and stop panicing over this stuff. AIG, big wheels need to give up the cash. Thanks, Mr. Cafferty for doing it right.

KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DO....

No.

Andy of Sierra Vista, Arizona

No Jack, his boss should.

I hestitate to say to fire anyone at this difficult time but I have to say "yes".

Why are people so upset? This was Capitalism at its best. Remember that some conservative Christian believe God wants us to be rich. Well here it is. This is what the conservatives wanted for the last eight years.
Now the chickens have come home to roost. How do they like it now. Geithner was doing his job.

Let me turn the question around. Should Timothy Geithner, who cheated on his taxes, ever been hired? Doesn't show me he is either that smart or trustworthy to begin with.

No the unemployment rate is bad enough already.

Jack, I don’t think Geithner should be fired at this point although I think he could use some help. Many times when you go out with the old and in with the new a consultant is obtained to help with the transition. I think they should get Hank Paulson as a consultant to help Geithner until he feels comfortable in the position. It might be a good idea to get George Bush back as a consultant too.

No but I think they all need to slow down and get a grip on one thing before blasting through to the next problem.

No, Jack, not yet. But he surely shouldn't expect to get a bonus at the end of the year.

Well Jack,
First of all, I think you should probably address the fact that it was in fact THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION not the Bush administration that specifically included the bonuses (your previous articles continued to deny that chris dodd and geithner had anything to do with it). Secondly, yes I believe he should be fired, along with the 6 others on obamas cabinet that failed to pay their own taxes to fund this rediculous bailout. Furthermore, I think Obama himself should be scrutinized for SIGNING THE BILL THAT ALLOWED THE BONUSES. Even though I believe the bonuses are wrong and clearly something should be done, I REFUSE to believe and accept that congress can just impose a retroactive ex post facto, unconsitutional, unethical bill that even though might seem appropriate for this situation, implements a blaintant disreguard for our constitutional rights... There are other ways to get the money back that DOESNT INCLUDE STOPPING ALL OVER OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.

No, Geitner's boss should be fired.It looks like Obama knew about this and let it play out,confident in his ability to talk his way out of blame.

Yes, Geithner should be fired and so should Dodd, Frank, and most of Congress..Instead of hating AIG for their greed and arrogance, blame the stupidity of Congress for knee-jerk, political posturing by passing a bill no one read or understood. Now they are trying to blame their way out of taking responsibility. The outright malicious rants from Congress people wanting names of bonus recipiants are just to cover themselves and the ignorant people we keep voting into power. We should look in the mirror and ask why we think these people have any smarts to fix what they broke. I don't want to hear how and who got us to this point,,,,,,,just think clearly and rationally and consider the consequences of your actions not the political advantage you gain. It's the Obama administration now and the Democrats are not doing anything so far but making more mess.

YES; he was in the thick of thing's while in new york; it's like giving the fox the key to the hen house!

Jack

Clearly the AIG/ Merrll Lynch scandals have been handled poorly. Call me stupid but it looks like the AIG Bonuses came right out of the Merril Lynch play book. I think we will eventually get to to the end. Not on the High road ,but rather the long way around. To place the theives in charge at AIG adds legitamacy to the whole snake oil scheme. Mr Liddy seemed sympathetic to their cause and therefore should be replaced with the whisle blower type that we need in this position. The fact that these criminals cannot see the disgrace in accepting this money is proof of their greed. They should be FIRED immediatly. After they had the party at the SPA with the first $$$ 85 Billion, Ray Charles could have seen this comming and he's dead and blind. Where do get these pitchforks!!!

From every account I have heard, Geithner has a brilliant mind and understands all aspects of the crisis. He may have made mistakes. Please list those who have not in the global meltdown. We are blaming our leaders; our representatives; regulatory agencies who all have a part as do each and every one of us. However, where is the centralized list of names of those closest to these disasters...those tasked with good governance of our corporations and investments. We should not overlook the value of placing blame and more importantly shame on the shoulders closest to the mess. We need a listing of the executives and boards of directors of these failed enterprises. Let us deprive them of future employment so that they too may taste the fruits of their lack of conscience and do some of the suffering along with the millions unemployed and deprived of their futures. We are overlooking the knaves (read Yes men and women) who pushed through every desire of these executives.

No I don't think that he should br fired . Everone needs to take a chill pill . After paying $4.50 for a gallon of gas for almost 3 yrs , and we are worring about Tim Geithner . They just only been in office a little over two month's give him a break.. Everyone expects 8 years of mess to get fix over night , not happening. They are dealing with so much crap from the last administration that we don't even no about. You have all these economist giving their input . My question were was these economist at 3 or 4 years ago before we got to this point. If these economist are so smart why they did not stop this before we got this far. So everyone needs to back -off.

Since Congress wants to micro-manage the large banks which received TARP funds, why stop there? Why not all banks, auto companies, auto suppliers and anyone else receiving stimulus money. And why stop there? Why not oversee anyone receiving any form of government money, including defense contractors, states, etc. And if a state receives money, shouldn't there be compensation restrictions on who gets those monies (schools, cities, service districts)? After all, aren't those employers broke as well? So, no bonuses, pay raises, perks, etc for anyone unless your employer stands on its own two feet and does not receive any form of government support. Los Angeles, California

No, do not fire Gethner. Eliminate corporate lobbying. In taxing the AIG bonus' at 90%, Congress conveniently overlooked the $ 4 billion in TARP funds that congress received from lobbyists in order to receive bailout funds and allow the bonus' in the first place. Until corporate lobbying is eliminated, the intereests of the American people willnot be represented.

Jack–
I think that he should quit–not just because of the bonus issue, but because he is baggage weighing down the Obama administration. He should have gotten out when his tax issues came to light during the confirmation processs. Since he's been head of the Treasury, I don't think that he's done an effective job or inspired confidence in his ability to make good decisions to turn the bank situation around. He has been less than effective with the bonus issue, and continues to make excuses for himself. He's doing more harm than good. It's time for an exit, so the President can get someone in there to do a better job.

Whatever "oversight",or administrative shortsightedness T.Geithner may be accused of,he is not the protagonist of the AIG purloining of the taxpayers' millions.The finger rather has to be pointed to the total lack of rectitude of the power people in AIG .
That much more reaon to require solid and honest governmental control in the activities of our beloved Private Enterprise.

No; sometimes doing the right thing turns out to be the wrong thing. However, he should be put on notice.

Jack,

Not yet, let's give the man some time to work it all out before we kill him for one thing the CEO of AIG should of stopped because the company was broke...

Central Islip, N.Y.

I do not believe that he should be the one to go down for this. Why don't we just release the names of all of the CEO's that refuse to give back the money and let the American taxpayer have a chat with them.

Obviously Mr. Geithner is an intelligent, resourceful and competent public employee. However, he is very close to Wall Street and most likely empathizes strongly with their pain. His integrity is suspect and up till now he has not yet demonstrated his commitment to change we can believe in.

Knee-jerk reaction is to blame him. However, this pouring of good money into bad started in September. I blame Bush, Paulson, and Congress. Money should never have gone out before ground rules were set, like contracts, salaries, and unpaid taxes.

I guess not. I probably would have said possibly yes, but the "rock star" has spoken and stated that the blame is on him so therefore this is no big deal and we are not to worry about the matter. The leader has spoken. Just curious though, I wonder how big a deal this would have been and how hard the press would have pounded it had this been the previous administration. Double standards strike again in our illustrious press world. Besides, whats the big deal with giving away $165 billion, as Chuck the senator from New York would say, this is chump change that the American people could care less about!

Because of his own income tax deficits prior to his appointment, Geithner would have to be considered clueless or sinister; either way I cannot see how he can benefit our country as Secretary of the Treasury.

Oh grow up. All this talk about firing Geithner is childish nonsense. Whether he made a mistake or not, it is pettiness in comparison to the big picture. It is not about Geithner anyway. Peoople like Rush Limbaugh, who thinks the CEOs should get every last penny, go on the attack against Geithner because they want to embarrass President Obama. It is sad to see all this polical gamesmanship being played in the middle of this economic crisis.

AIG is old news Jack, the IRS is going to get the money back. I thought Dodd was the culprit in this fiasco?

add cris dodd to that list..OBAMA is trying to the right things but these clowns just add fuel to the gop talk show crowd.. obama needs to go very hard on AIG ..NO BONUSES AT ALL if he can make an example out of AIG the other institutions wii think hard before trying to milk the taxpayers for more money.. enuf is enuf ben stockton,calif

Jack,I have said from the very beginning this guy should have never been confirmed.In the first place a tax cheat has no business being in charge of the IRS,The country,unlike President Obama,has absolutely no confidence in this guy.He says he didn't know about the AIG bonuses,that statement proves he is incompetent.Anyone who took accounting 101 in high school would be a better fit than this clown.We were told this was the only guy that could fix things,if that is a true statement,the country is in deep,deep, trouble!!!!!

Give the Man breaK 8 weeks on the job is not long enough to discover half the bull the Bush clan let go on for years. It's going to be a rough drive out of this mess and the Politcal circus and blame game we are watching in Washington is not going to make it any easier. Now lets talk about Congrssional and Senat term timits and let them all know they can be replaced.

Only if Dodd, Pelosi and the rest of incompetents on the hill are going with him. It is not Geithner's fault that our "trusted" officials passed such an important piece of legislation without bothering to read it because Pelosi had a vacation to Italy planned that was far more important than billions of tax dollars being wasted.

He should resign. He knew about it. He can play dumb as long as he wants. He should just realize that the longer he continues to play dumb, the more proof gets published about these retention bonuses and when the Treasury knew. Everyone has a price and with that, is always willing to leak vital information.

What in the heck is wrong with this country, anyway? We now don't give our new administration five minutes before trying to tear it down? The question should be "How much damage to our country are we doing by sniping away at our President and his policies? For heavens sake, let's not be judging so quickly. Must we question every move, every word, every thing he does? What is wrong with this picture? Do we judge everything by the press, the Internet, the Twitterers, the radio commentators? We should all be ashamed by our lack of respect. Whatever happened to respect?

The problem with getting rid of Geithner is who would We The People end up with as his replacement? We may end up with someone even worse. The Obama Administration has had a hard time finding good people to fill cabinet positions. Even those who seemed like great choices for X or Y position turned out to have some kind of skeleton in their closet and bowed out. We've now seen Dodd lie about this AIG thing, we've seen Geithner lie about it, personally I think they are just trying to cover up their incompetence. I'm really starting to wonder if anyone in Washington really knows what's going on. I wish we taxpayers could confiscate Congress' checkbook until they get their act together and prove that they know how to manage our (taxpayer) money.

(Roland/St George, UT)

Of course not. Keep Geithner and fire Congress. By the way Mr. Liddy is a keeper also.

Perhaps THE WHITE HOUSE THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT,THE CONGRESS and THE MEDIA should see if the below section of the US CODE is applicable to the bonus checks issued by AIG and other companies who received TARP FUNDS.
IF these companies such as AIG issued these checks after "fraudently" inducing the White House, The Treasury Department, The Congress etc to pass legislation and disburse TARP or other government funds to these companies, does this not constitute "a conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud the United States"?
It is my understanding that If each receipient and disbursing agent for each "bonus" check was charged with the below "TITLE 18 Offense", their return of the funds would mitigate the charge. Perhaps all "bonus" checks so issued with knowledge of the fact that the TARP or other government funds were induced by the companies due to their dire financial status, "might" constitute "a conspiracy" in a "document" by two or more people to defraud the US Government.

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 19 > § 371Prev | Next § 371. Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States
How Current is This? If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
If, however, the offense, the commission of which is the object of the conspiracy, is a misdemeanor only, the punishment for such conspiracy shall not exceed the maximum punishment provided for such misdemeanor.

Bonus checks will have wings as they fly back.

MRCANDU10 (Cousin of Mr.Get It Done)

No, the CEOs and other upper management at AIG should be fired.

Why aren't theyr fired!

Thelma, Prattville Alabama

Jack I'am a democrat and stand behind our president but besides vetting his appointments is there a common sense test they must pass also?
It seems like every other head in our new administration is screwed on backwards!
So many balls being dropped!To many errors.

Geithner should never have been hired so he should definitely be fired for funnelling billions of dollars to his fatcat buddies and millions to the AIG executives.
Brownwood, Texas

Jack:
No, he should not be fired. This guy knows how the financial system operates, and we need someone like him to fix it;
And enough is enough! We should stop talking about those AIG bonuses. Sure, the money they got was excessive, but so are the salaries we pay to our professional athletes, college coaches, and rock stars. Yes, those bonuses werean unwise use of tax money, but is there anyone out there who wants to argue that we get reasonable return from the dollars taxpayers directly and indirectly provide for sport stadiums, strip malls, or oil depletion allowances?
Jack, we Americans need to remind ourselves that "greed" is a basic American value, standing right up there with family values, free trade, and low taxes. Kenneth Lay, Jeff Skilling, Michael Milikin, Bernie Madoff, when you look at that list of names, the AIG people seem qualified to serve on the Habitat for Humanity board.
So please, can we stop talking about those AIG bonuses? Actually I have already stopped, now it's your turn.

dan
Land-O-Lakes, WI

contracts are legal and binding but i guess those simpletans/the people do not understand the gravity of that. you can't agree to pay someone in writing than just not do it. but if that's the case why do some many politicians have tax issues? and why are there companies losing sooo much money? things that make you go hmmm.

No , the guy is working 15 hrs a day trying to clean up the Bush mess.

Jack–if your going to fire someone-its the persons that gave the bonuses and the ones receiving them. AS a major stock holder "US citizen" a say pink slip them all. Just to be save-hold them for 30 days on suspicion-hell! if we can do it for years-surely we can for crooks for 30 days.

Absolutely. Pres. Obama should also fire Summers and Bernanke. These liars knew all about the bonuses and compensation packages for the Wall St crooks. Unless Obama wants to go into the books as a one term failed president, he needs to get rid of these guys immediately.

Kick him to the curb. No bonuses, either.

I am sick of the AIG bonus discussion - it has been reported all day and night ad nauseum! They are only trying to control the bonuses of these companies that have failed and are now holding their hand out to the taxpayer to be salvaged! No other executive pay at any other company is in jeopardy if they do not ask the taxpayer to pay for their mistakes!!

Jack,
I would agree, he should be fired, along with many others. Having said that, who could he be replaced with, most political figures are corrupt, and only motivated by greed.
Carl in Illinois

I think that Senator Christopher Dodd should resign from his post as Senate Banking Committee Chairman before Timothy Geithner resigns at Treasury.

according to the LA Times, a "liberal" news organization, Dodd's election campaign received $13 MILLION in financial industry PAC and individual money THEN killed the Snow-Wyden "No Bonus" provisions of the original TARP bailout plan.

SOUNDS PRETTY FISHY TO ME!!!

no

He know his responsibility. So he should know he don't need to wait to fire him.

He's a tax cheat and gets rewarded by becoming our Sec. of Treasury. The AIG dudes lied, cheated, manuevered the system to the braking point and they were rewarded with bonuses. He managed and manuevered the first failed baiout. Along comes this one and someone in Treasury orders Sen. Dodd to put in language to guarantee that AIG dudes get their bonuses. There are 17 stff positions in Treasury and only 2 have been filled: Geithner and some underling. From that it appears Mr. G. is playing fast and loose. He waited until just before the Pres. was to sign the bill before he clued him in.
Obama promised change So, let's change our Sec. of he Treasury.

How about another question. My answer is No!
But the other question is who at this time in history, on this planet earth would even care to consider and take this job! Common! No one and nothing is perfect in life...but we are experiencing the fixing of a system gone over the Hill...! So, let's try to see and get the Best from everyone and put that very Best to work every single day and yes Jack, this demands the very best actions from every citizen!

Yes. He has been a disaster from the beginning. Every time I see him, I cringe. I don't care if he "takes responsibility". That's redundant. Of COURSE he's responsible. He's the Treasury Secretary. And I think he is a stunning example of Obama's failure to pick people who aren't tainted by past misdeeds. The sad thing is, if he goes, we will have to find someone to replace him, get them confirmed, and caught up on the learning curve. That's really dangerous and unfortunate. Maybe he has to stay for that reason.

Jack,
Nope. Maybe President Obama needs to give him a more forceful explanation of what "No more business as usual" means. Secretary Geithner may be a financial whiz and I got no gripe with the idea of bonuses for the talent at the top but the Treasury Secretary has the cart before the horse here.
It oughta work this way: First you guys save AIG, then you get the bonus.

Pablo
Arlington Texas

I know ther's blood in the water and it's tempting to throw him to the sharks, but it might be a good idea to take a breath and wait for the emotion to subside. we may find that these payments had to be made, that not paying them might be more expensive, and that the new bonus tax law is unconstitutional. It is true that no one seems to like Timmy, but except for Paulson's takeover of the government last fall, Treasury secretaries are usually in their office, not in front of reporters. Remember that great speech by Paul O'Neil? Me neither.

AIG contracts are legal and binding but the people/the simple ones may not understand the gravity of breaking a contract without a judge present.
besides AIG just cant pay up because of rumors such as; increased loss of profit, fraud, lack of real assets, employee theft, ya know things like that which only hold up in court-
with proof.
Tim Geithner is doing the legally proper thing by considering that.

This week-long obession by government and television personalities alike over the bonuses scandel is a smoke-screen. Yes, it's obnoxious, but the real crime is that Trillions have been lost to greedy SOBs that are thus far getting away with murder. Should Geithner be fired? No, that would be reactionary and political. Should we hunt down those who undermined the stability of our county for prosecution and asset retrieval? Yes, yes, YES!

Wouldn't replacing him with an actual Deer caught in the headlights, be cheaper? Also, he's a product of the mess he's supposed to clean up–so yes, he must be replaced. Paul Krugman or Robert Reich. would focus on Main Street, not Wall Street. Their solution to the bonus outrage would be to Spin these Employees and their Contracts into a poorly funded subsidiary and let them fight for their money in Bankruptcy Court. That's how they advocated treating Union Contracts and fair is fair.

Yes.

No

And you really have to ask this question? It's a no brainer there Maynard. The Democratic party and the RINO's too.

Yes! If he is not fired, then where is the accountibility? Someone should be responsible for the binus mess.

Don't pay them the money, let them go under. It would be nice to see all those high paid idiots on the bread line.

No I don't think he should be fired. Get the man a proper staff, and some room to work with here. Also give him more then a few weeks to get things sorted. The republicans want to fire anything having to do with Obama just because he has something to do with Obama and it's getting tired.

No, absolutely not! If everyone in Washington were fired for making errors, there would be no one left, including the press.

YES!!! He should have never been confirmed in the first place and this just proves it once and for all. Obama should make this wrong a right.

No, if anyone should be fired over this it should be Dodd from Conneticut, and he should just hand in his resignation and leave the senate.

Of course not

No, we already fired the real person responsible (bush). I just wish he would take the rest of the republicans with him.

To quote Sam "Ace" Rothstein in the movie "Casino"

"Either you were in on it or you were too stupid to see what was going on. Either way, you're out!"

Good grief, no! Give everything a chance to work. It's ridiculous to think that anything substantive could have happened in such a short time. Geithner is no orator, but that shouldn't be a requisite...give him a chance!

no he shouldn't be fired. It wasn't only he who overlooked this. We are all learning from this bad economy...this is new to us all. But I do think that they should be made to pay the bonuses back. It doesn't matter how they do it...as long as they pay them back.

He had "tried" enough. It is time to get someone honest involved in all this.

We are used to being lied to, but that doesn't mean we deserve it.

He should most definitely be fired and then sent to his room without a bonus or cookies.

Actually he should have been fired the day they discovered that he was unable to properly prepare his own taxes. If that wasn't a red flag of incompetence for the job of Treasury Secretary, I don't know what is.

No, he should not be fired! Give me a break he hasn't been the Treasury Sec very long. He also lacks a fully staffed Treasury Dept. The media and others are being too hard on this administration so far.

If Geithner means what he says "I take full responsibility" literally, then he should resign or be fired. People use that phrase so much without meaning what they say.

No Silly, Come on, The guy has only been there for less then 90 days !

No firing – give Geitner a chance to prove himself. Where is this patience that Obama asked to give him and his admiistration? If people keep stirring up the pot with comments like this, the confidence in our government is harder and harder to come by and this will only delay a recovery. Patience everyone - and especially the new media.
Des Moines, IA

Absolutely not.

Joanne from Aberdeen, Wa

No. Much of the scandal was already going on during the previous administration. Hank Paulson left the new guy holding the bag. Give him tim to get his staff together. But don't expect him to micromanage.
As much as he confesses responsibility, the truth is he is not to blame.

If people were fired for being stupid the uneployment rate would be like 90%

Are you joking? Why should he be fired, he just started the job. This AIG mess wasn't his fault. Give the guy a chance.

No. If we keep firing smart people, there will be no one left to fix the problems. While I did not vote for Mr. Obama, I believe he should be given time to make mistakes, learn from them, and then get things done before we judge him. I believe the same is true of our Treasury Secretary. If only perfect people were allowed in government, D.C. would be a mighty empty place. Until the Treasury Secretary gets it on with an intern, or predicts we can invade a country and be greeted as liberators, I am prepared to give him some slack and evaluate him on things that matter.

Fire Geithner and make sure Obama is with him out the door.

They've done more damage to this country in two months than Bush could even think about doing in eight years.

I believe he should. I never thought he should have been hired for the job w/ his unpaid tax problem. He has a look of a lost boy too – too much to handle for him it seems.

So far I am unimpressed by the Fed Guru. Yes, for AIG and general ineptitude he needs to go.

I say ,, CLEAN house!! and start with him..

I don't think he should be fired over it, but I do think he needs get some staff. Running that office by himself is silly.

"Mr." Geithner should
a.) QUIT

and if not......

b.) Be Fired!

If Predent Obama wants to keep his approval ratings and/or demonstrate real change, he will fire the man first. I love our new president but I am distraught over all of this myself. I hope he does the "right thing"........

How is this all on Geithner? Congress passed the bailout package with the language that permitted these bonuses. Are we saying that our Congressmen aren't required to actually read the measures they vote on? Why is Congress getting a free pass on the accountability here?

I think everyone should give Geithner a break. If only the media and everyone else had gone after Bush and the rest of the cabal like they are Geithner after only 2 months on the job maybe we wouldn't be in the mess we are in.

Of course not – why ? What's the logical reason ?

Saratoga Springs, NY

It's been what? two months since the man got the job? We all knew there was going to be some bumps along the road, the man is doing his best with a ton on his plate,

No! but congress should and the talented corrupt officers at AIG. That demand bonus from a company that needs a bailout because of poor managing.

Geithner should be fired and Dodd should resign. Dodd's constant lieing until he could not get away with it any longer is disgusting.

Yes, I think Timothy Geithner should be fired.....in fact, he should have stepped down when it was discovered he did not pay taxes on that large amount of money. Two very big mistakes...should have gone on the first mistake!!!!

No, he should be fired for not paying his taxes.

I don't think that Mr. Geithner should be fired for his mistakes in handling AIG bonuses. Inspite of his excellent academic credentials and experience n federal reserve he is to new to political appointments and is learning how to do be an effective secretary. He does deserve some encouragement to be more effective in doing a better job as treasury secretary.

The obvious question is – If someting like this happend in private buisness, would Mr Geithner's job be in jeopardy? The answer is a resounding yes. Of course he needs to be terminated. It's his job is to know what is happening and he failed.

Yes...he should be fired. It was his job to know how AIG was going to spend the bailout money and he failed miserably. If anyone else had made this huge of a mistake it would mean their job.

Jack,
In the taxpayers world a mistake like this costs you your job. No if's, ands or buts! Do these people think we are stupid or what? They have different rules that they follow. The rules that they make up as they go along.
Art Jenkin
Saint Louis, MO

yes, he should resign or get fired

I don't think he should be fired over it, but I do think he needs get some staff. Running that office by himself is silly.

Fredericksburg, VA

I believe that he should've bee fired long before this scandal. After his little show about bailing out the banks failed and the stock market fell 2800 points. He should've resigned or been fired then! I don't have faith in this guy at all!

God Bless this great country!

He should be fired asap. From day one after his tax problem, we have lost confidence in him. He was in with Hank Paulson on bailout, why no one questioning the ex treasurer for bailing out Aig which gave billions to his ex buddies at Golgmen Sax. Something is fishy.

yes, yes...a thousand times yes.

Of course not. The guy has only had the job for about two months and he inherited a real mess. He is probably overwhelmed with information; he can't possibly see everything and know everything. He needs more Under Secretarys and Assistant Secretarys to delegate to and assist him.

The truth of the matter is that this is a very complicated knot to untie. Let's give the guy some time.

Yes,,,he should be fired and all the money we have paid him returned!!!

Yes. He is not worth the easy mud that will be thrown, and stick, by the Republicians.

From St. Louis Missouri.

Yes, and for not paying his taxes on time! Anyone see a pattern? Where is "The Change" we were promised?

Geithner should be fired. This is the same problem as his tax issues. He is either deceitful or incompetent. Either way, the country deserves better. – Brighton, MI

Yes, He has generalized the financial issues and not given much details of his plans. Obama selected him in Novemebr and by this time a plan with details should have been implemented. failure- get rid of it.

No, Congress should be fired for authorizing the bailout in the first place!

Absolutely not, no one is perfect and even if he had gotten this scenario right he will get another wrong. We need to give the persons a chance to work and be realistic that there will be hick ups along the way. Just like in our prsonal life nothing is perfect when a spouse makes a bad judgement do we fire them?

Sure why not? let's start all over and keep everyone from the previous administration, I'm sure they would've had a better handle on this mess. How about we all have a little patience and let these people figure out how to navigate through this mess that no one knows how to fix yet. It will take time.

If he's taking full responsibility as he says, then he should resign and let someone else, who can be trusted by the bosses (us, the people) and hopefully someone who always pays their taxes on time, take over the reigns at the Treasury.

YES

In a word: YES!! Is this not the same person who claimed he did not know he owed federal taxes? Why would we want someone so clueless to be leading a very important cabinet position in this time of economic crisis? He should be toast!!!

AIG CEO's are the ones who should be fired, how could they even think about giving themselves BONUSES when we tax-payers bailed them out and they see other people losing their jobs, houses and don't even know where their next meal is coming from. I don't know how these people sleep at nights.

NO !!

YES! Its likethe fox garding the chicken coup.

No he should not be fired. He is essential to fixing the economy right now. The reason Obama picked him is because he is uniquely qualified to handle the Treasury Dept.

Yes, he thinks his job is to protect the people who caused this!

No Jack give the young man Geithner time- the mess is not of his making!! Tell Congress to do its job with the appropriate oversight

Geitner should be let go. He obviously is not on the side of the American people but rather the big interests on wall street. In the time of thie economic turmoil we must employ those who we can trust and be sure they put the tax payers first.

Yup. Accountability needs to begin now.

Of course he should be fired.

Have we really gone from a dimwitted president surrounded by smart people to a smart president surrounded by dimwits?

yes

Give him a break he have enough on his plate.
Back off him and let him do his job.

The bonus scandal doesn't warrant his firing...His inability to get out in front of this mess does...Rather than providing leadership, he seems to be hanging on for dear life...Obama could do better...The people need better...

Mistake, yes but is it worth being fired over? I think we need to be more concerned with AIG's billion dollar rescue package and not so much a few million in bonuses. Let's address that and move on.

He should be fired.

Dedr Mr. Cafferty:

The answer to your question is yes. He should be fired or resign. The Americans have had enough of this lying by Government oficials and then going on about what ever it is they do with out any paying for their actions

Bill

Of course. The whole event is either political grandstanding or pure incompetence on the part of the government. What AIG did, moral or not, is legal. Are we now turning into a communist country where the government can create laws to take away private legal assets just because we do not like it?

Yes yes and yes!!! I voted for Obama and this nomination perplexes me to the innermost. He is a wall street insider. Get someone competent in there. This is most crucial role and he is making mistakes after mistakes. Plus his demeanor doesn't help as he always looks cocky and full of himself. Get rid of him now!!!

No one is perfect and we all make mistakes and oversights. However, there are times we need to pay a price for a mistake or oversight and this is one that requires a consequence. Yes, he should be shown the door. Government officials so often say they didn't know (plausible deniability). This is one time too many.

No – he shouldn't be fired. We are a very impatient lot. It is a complex issue and for goodness sake, he has only been in office for two months. He's trying to fix problems with AIG. So some people think he should be fired - the person trying to fix things - and the people at AIG who created all the problems should NOT be fired? Come on....

Geithner should resign or be fired and in the mix of things Dodd should resign and anyone else connected should resign..........THIS WOULD BE CHANGE that everyone talks about and does not take place. Same old politics "someone else to blame but themselves". Congress and Senate are not doing their jobs..................

Geithner should be asked to step aside.
He began with personal tax problems, next his vague "plan" provoked Congressional laughter, and now he's graduated to full blown incompetence.
We may spend the next year fixing his first two months. Time for him to go.

Absolutely not. He has just taken over the job and all of the agreements were in place long before then. Tim Geithner has inherited a monstrous mess handed to him by the inept Bush administration and now he has to sort through it and resolve issues one by one. He is capable and smart and he just needs the time. Republicans are asking him to resign but where were they for the last eight years when incompetence was so rampant.

Vasu Iyer

No Jack I think that people aren't giving Geithner enough credit. Although the AIG situation infuriates me and almost everyone I've spoken to, we can't expect the government to always play daddy for the corporations. If the executives who had contracts with AIG over bonuses had any sense of reason they'd refuse their undeserved bonuses, or at least reduce them to a rational amount. Big business is going to have to seriously rethink executive compensation if these financial issues are to be avoided in the future.

No, Give the guy some time to get this mess corrected. And no, the next person replaces Geithner isn't going to fix things from the get go. A cleanup of this colossus of a mess is going to take time.

YES!! He should be fired, Dodd should be kicked out of the Senate, and Obama should keep his promises to cut pork and to make transparency viewable online.

Get them all out.

For this and other reasons, yes. He should be fired. It's time for the gaffes and missteps to stop and for substantial and meaningful change to be implemented. We simply can't afford for these hacks to get up to speed. Time to take off the training wheels and minimize the damage.

Cotati, Ca.

Fire him ASAP!

No. I do not beleive Githner should be fired because we have not really given him a fair chance to make a difference. No one tried to firre the last President and his party who got us into this mess. Why start now?

Geithner should never have been confirmed, but now the damage needs to be undone with his immediate dismissal.

NO NO NO!

Of course!

Yes, he should be fired. This guy seems that he always has something hidden.

Thanks,

HC

No, he should not be fired. With the myriad of financial problems it is inevetibale that something will be missed. Also, with the previous administration no one was ever held accountable for the most regrettable error of all, the Iraq war.

Jack:
Absolutely not.

Vasu Iyer

When top management can't run the company; first thing to do is get rid of those who messed up.

No, absolutely not. He should not be fired. AIG should be held to account. Make them pay back the bonuses to the federal government. Personally, I think this whole bailout nonsense is wrong, however, I support our President and his cabinet. We have put up with a lot worse in years past.

The question is did he know or didn't he. No one can say if he did, and if he did, when he did know about the bonuses.

If he did know and maliciously didn't do anything, or kept it a secret, or lied about knowing, then yes, he should be fired.

No, he should not be fired. AIG should be taxed $165 million, and an extra $10 million for the trouble. This is a prime example of why "big government" over-site is needed, to watch over these morons. Either way it ends up costing taxpayers in the end.

If I was the boss, he would be fired ...yesterday!

To show the American people that he is a responsible Treasury Secretary and Obama's team, he should resign without being asked! Geithner is a HUGE LIABILITY for the govrnment of United States of America.

No he doesn't need to be fired over this, good thing he's got a strong stomach because the politics of it are whats wrong, W had eight years of bs, i can handle a couple of missteps if the end results work.

Tim Geithner should not be fired over the AIG bonus scandal. Let's stop playing the blame game and look at what happened. Business ethics is not hard to understand. AIG handed out the bonuses and they should be the ones held accountable.

The masses are looking for someone to pay the price for this one, Jack. He should take one for the team.

Americans are a forgiving people, until you start mishandling their money. The old adage, a million here, a millin there and pretty soon you're talking about real money, isn't funny anymore. If his boss has any standards, he'll be fired. This is a test and unfortunately I don't think this administration will pass.
Kearney, NE

YES!

Fire him already. The guy is a tax cheat and incompetent.

Absolutely not!
$165 Million isn't even worth sneezing at compared to the REAL financial problem that this country is facing.

If people want to see someone fired, then let's begin the investigation into the people who were really in charge of this when it happened.
Lets start with Henry Paulson and what he knew.

No – the people at AIG should be fired, since we now own the company. And their rules for "bonuses" need to be changed drastically.

Geithner and Chris Dodd should both GO!

As bad as I feel for the guy, it is his partially his fault this was allowed to sneak through.

If you want to blame anyone, blame Chris Dodd for lying about it.

Yes.

hey, they only been in office for 6 weeks, come on do anyone think that this problem was going to be over in a day, it took 8 year to get into this its going to take 12 years to get out , if we get out.

He did not fulfill his responsibility as Treasury Secretary. To my opinion he either quits the job or be fired.

No.

It takes two to tango.

Your question is Should he be fired? A definite YES. However the tax cheater should have never been confirmed in the first place.

No he should not be fired. I have become accustomed to his rather amusing cartoonish looks of beffudlement.

I wouldn't fire the guy; he's practically a genius in economics. I would, however, demote Geithner to Undersecretary. Obama needs to replace Geithner with a strong Administrator with excellent management skills who happens to have a good handle on economics, perhaps someone like Prof. James Stock of Harvard.

Unfortunately for Geithner the American public now knows the 'full extent' of his ineptitude and it's time for him to go.

Boston, MA

Definitely-he is totally incompetent to help us out of this mess!

No. Geithner should not step down or resign because none of this is his fault. Those contracted bonuses were going to happen no matter what Geithner did. I think Geithner has a lot on his plate right now with getting all these budgets figured out.

Tim geithner should not be fired. We need to support him and Obama and give them a chance to change things. It's only bee 60 days in office.

yes – matter of fact, in view of his tax history he should not have been apointed as the IRS boss to begin with. What ludicrous insanity!

NO!!!!! Plain and simple NO!!!! This mess is not of this administrations doing.

No, he's just trying his best at cleaning the mess that Dick and Bush left behind.

Yes, Geithner should be fired. And while we are at it let's fire Bernanke and Dodd. They are just as much to blame, maybe Dodd moreso for lying straight faced about it.

Houston, TX

As George C. Scott (playing General Buck Turgeson in Dr. Strangelove) said, "You can't condemn an entire program for one minor slip up."

yes

He never should have been chosen for the job in the first place. Come on he is a Tax Evader!!!! anyone else would be in trouble with the IRS..

He should absolutely be fired. If Obama wants to keep his promise of brining change and transparency to the White House he needs to act and show that lying to the American people will not be tolerated by friging the tax cheat Timothy Geithner.

No, But the pink slip should be written up, and if anything of this magnitude happens again, he should be canned immediately.

Yep.. and don't give him any "retention" bonus either!

Yes, he should be fired. Although highly intelligent and competent, he and the administration (I supported Obama) need to have the courage to put AIG and other problems banks and corporations into bankruptcy. While this will trigger a massive crisis, the time has come to stop transferring the wealth of the neation to the top 1%. If a massive upheaval and the failure of the financial system results, then we rebuild from the ground up with newer, smaller, financial organizations. Putting up the eventual $6T or more that will be required to keep failed institions running should no longer be an option.

Yes, fire him!

Firing Geithner is most ridiculous idea I've ever heard. He's had the job a few weeks. This mess wasn't caused by him. We already fired a large chunk of the people responsible: Former President, former members of Congress, and former AIG staff. Give the man a chance to get some work done.

Seems like the wrong question to me. I'd rather be asking, "Should the leadership of AIG be fired over the AIG bonus scandal?" To which I'd reply a resounding YES!

No he should not be fired because the bailout was put in place during the Bush administration and the bonuses we paid before Obama took office.

No, personally i don't think anything could be done to stop those bonus's short of letting AIG go into bankruptcy. Sure laws could have been passed but eventually the courts would find those laws unconstitutional.
Politically it worked great for the Democrats, Republicans voted for a 90% rate, WOW! It's on the record.

YES!

Yes, Fire him, he has to be accountable for this

No, Geithner should not be fired. . He has gotten the point. And the American people, who spawned a culture of greed and me first-ism, are the ultimate culprits. I sure hope socially we are all getting the point from this. Let's emphasize sense and moral fairness, not revenge.

Absolutely! He should have been fired for illegally avoiding paying taxes first and this should be his 2nd and final strike.

Yes, without a doubt! It's about time people start taking responsibility for their actions or inaction as the case may be. There's a lot at stake with our country right now. and the American people have been duped into thinking the government is "doing the right thing" and "making things better."

Mount Laure, NJ
No he should not be fired. If he were in the job for longer than 2 months maybe I would be saying hey what's going on here, but give them all a chance before we start calling for their heads. After a year if he doesn't have his act together I suspect the President will handle it. Lets all just RELAX!!!

yes.

dont think so!!! Let the guy do his job

Yes! Him and every single executive that recieved bonuses for creating this financial horror.

He's got to go. He may be a brilliant, economist but he's also incompetent as a leader. To say he was unaware if this is like saying "I had no idea ths sun would set today". He instills doubt across America every time he steps in front of the camera.

FIRED

Yes he should be fired, why? Because he DID know. He was questioned about it in the Senate on March 3rd. Another phoney (a la Dodd) surprise.

He should absolutely not be fired. He and other top officials at the Treasury Department should get large multi-million dollar bonuses just like the AIG executives.

No. AIG executives should be fired. You know, the ones they want to retain. The same ones that caused all of this. Or better yet, send them all to jail. Why do we pay one the downside, but don't share in the upside?