. June 6, 2006 SouthAmerica: Mr. Henry Paulson, chairman and chief executive of Goldman Sachs earned nearly $40 million last year and Mr. Paulson is Goldman's largest shareholder with about 4.6m shares, worth about $692 million. President Bush nominated Henry M. Paulson, to become his next Treasury Secretary â He will replace John W. Snow (The Buffoon). What I donât understand is why someone with the professional background of Henry Paulson want to become US Treasury Secretary at this point? With a lot of economic bad news in the pipeline and the possibility of a major international monetary crisis sparked by a US dollar meltdown in world markets. With the Iraq civil war getting completely out of control, with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda taking over places such as Afghanistan and Somalia. With a real estate bubble being deflated at home, with companies such as IBM outsourcing millions of good American jobs at the speed of light. I am sure that during his watch we will have a major blow out of a major hedge fund. I just canât think of something positive in the American economy that will make him look good as Treasury Secretary. Robert Rubin did not become Treasury Secretary of a mine field â with all kinds of deficits growing by leaps and bounds, and at the same time having to finance various wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Robert Rubin was US Treasury Secretary during a period of US government debt reduction and common sense was being used in making decisions about the financial affairs of the United States. Henry Paulson will be Treasury Secretary of a reckless administration that thinks that deficits does not matter â and they want to wage many wars on foreign credit and at the same time they want to give the biggest tax breaks to the top 1 percent of the population. Based on the current US economic circumstances John W. Snow was a perfect match for the job since only a Buffoon could play along with the disastrous economic policies of the Bush administration. I have no idea why Mr. Paulson would accept to be US treasury secretary at this time â Maybe he is a masochist. .
He is not a masochist SA. He is one of the most successful financial managers of our times and he accepted this job because UNLIKE you, he wants to serve this country, not criticize it like an old bitching lady, kind of what you do everyday btw..... I am amazed you survived yesterday.
. optionpro007: He is one of the most successful financial managers of our times. ***** June 7, 2006 SouthAmerica: I know who he is and and I am aware of his outstanding performance on Wall Street. What I donât understand is why a person with his credentials would take a job for nickels-and-dimes when compared with what he makes on Wall Street â a job at this point with very little upside potential and a humongous downside; it will be just like walking on a minefield blindfolded. He has very little to gain on his new adventure and a lot of reputation and credibility to lose. .
Not about the money. GS fosters a culture about influence as much as wealth. Corzine, Rubin, Thain, etc. It's about making your mark in history. Paulsen is in his 60s. This is probably his last chance at having a historical impact.
. lwlee: Not about the money. GS fosters a culture about influence as much as wealth. Corzine, Rubin, Thain, etc. It's about making your mark in history. Paulsen is in his 60s. This is probably his last chance at having a historical impact. ******* June 7, 2006 SouthAmerica: I know that it is not about the money since he has a fortune worth over $ 700 million dollars. I can tell you right now he is not going to be an outstanding Treasury Secretary such as Loyd Bentsen, and Robert Rubin. He does not have the quality of the people on this administration that the other treasury secretaries had under Bill Clinton. Today, we have a bunch of idiots running the US government. You said: âIt's about making your mark in history. Paulsen is in his 60s. This is probably his last chance at having a historical impact.â If that was the case then he should instead start a 3rd major political party, because that is what we really need very badly in this country. The Republicans and the Democrats are not doing their jobs and Mr. Paulson has the financial resources to start an independent party â if he did that then he would have the chance of achieving a historical turning point and major impact on US political and economic affairs. Being a member of the Bush administration it is the same as being an assistant to the captain of the âTITANIC.â Good luck. .
I don't disagree with your assessment. Paulsen was promised more influence. He can still make his mark if he can do something about the trade deficit. How he handles the currency will also be closely watched. In addition, his close tie to China and how he manages it could be historic. Starting a 3rd party is too radical and not something that would be in his character.
I will miss Snow and his astute cherry picking of questions in his Q&A pieces he does from time to time. There was a thread on here of his recent Q&A whereby emailers wanted insight into the mind of the genius that was Snow, but woe, oh woe, it had been deleted. But lets not dwell on the past, Mr. Paulson has been deemed by Generalissimo Bush as a great pick. "[W]hen he is confirmed by the Senate, heâll be a superb addition to my Cabinet. ⦠The Treasury Secretary is the leading force on my economic team and the chief spokesman for my economic policies." (Source) With such a ringing endorsement by our dear beloved leader of supreme knowledge and insight, I have nothing but full confidence that Paulson will be as good as if not better than the former Treasury Secretaries. I recall the declaration of praise bestowed upon the former secretaries : John Snow: "Heâll be a superb member of my Cabinet. ⦠Iâll be proposing specific steps to increase the momentum of our economic recovery, and the Treasury Secretary will be at the center of this effort." (Source) Paul O'Neil: "The secretary of treasury is the chief financial officer of our nation, the successor to Alexander Hamilton. ⦠I found such a man in Paul OâNeill."(Source) And as I look around the financial landscape today, I can't imagine how Mr. Paulson can make America even more stongerest financially at home nor abroad. Viva el Presidente!
I agree, that makes alot of sense. When you have that much money, it's not about making more money, but being noticed after you are gone.
Clever businessmen go into politics to get things done and make a big f**kin' difference. Thats the first thing they get wrong. Now, the best that Paulson can do is to have a nose for saying the 'right thing' and to not go around upsetting as many goddamn apple carts as he can. He has the dollar and the markets to keep calm. Politics is not like business. Its a long play. Always being prepared. Always keeping your gunpowder dry.
. lwlee: How he handles the currency will also be closely watched. In addition, his close tie to China and how he manages it could be historic. ******* June 8, 2006 SouthAmerica: I put myself on Henry Paulsonâs shoes and I started thinking what would take to anyone to convince me to take the Treasury Secretaryâs job at this time. Then I realized what must have done the trick. With the US economy going into a deep recession, the real estate bubble being deflated â with an accelerating number of people going into foreclosure, oil prices keep going up, the US government keep its deficit spending going in high gear like there is no tomorrow, the Iraq civil war keeps getting completely out of control and spilling into other countries in the area, many international investors realize that there are better investment possibilities around the world and they start taking their money from the US dollar and the US economy, other governments realize that it is time to diversify out of the US dollar into euro, gold, and other alternatives, we have at least 3 Katrinas during the hurricane season of 2006 with major destruction and the costs attached to it, and after the November 2006 mid-term elections the US government will be completely paralyzed during the impeachment process of the Bush/Cheney team. This perfect storm will require an outstanding US Treasury Secretary, and a very good Fed Chairman to ride the storm for the United States when the US dollar finally reach the point of a meltdown starting a major international monetary crisis - a crisis that the world have not seen one like that in decades. John W. Snow was a buffoon and had very little credibility in the US and never mind around the world. But Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke it seems to me that they make the A-Team of international finance and they will try to calm the storm when the US dollar start the coming meltdown. That is the only scenario that makes sense to me for him to accept the job of Treasury Secretary. The only problem is that the United States has never been in such a difficult position before; with 75 percent of the US dollars ever created by the US government flying around the world completely outside of US government influence. When they start dumping their US dollars in the international markets the shit will really hit the fan. I hope the A-Team will be prepared to play superman. The Financial Times of London published an article today: âAmericaâs divided global outlookâ â and they mentioned in that article that Henry Paulson has traveled to China about 70 times over the past 15 years, and that he visited 21 countries around the world in the last 12 months. I hope that by now he is fluent in Chinese since he will need that skill in the near future. .