December 6, 2002
TOO HONEST FOR GOVERNMENT:
Bush shuffles economic team (JEANNINE AVERSA, December 6, 2002, ASSOCIATED PRESS)Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, whose outspokenness often landed him in hot water, announced his resignation Friday in a shakeup of President Bush's economic team amid concern about the ailing economy. [...]He described traders as people who "sit in front of a flickering green screen" all day and were "not the sort of people you would want to help you think about complex questions." [...]
O'Neill called the U.S. income tax code "9,500 pages of gibberish." He roiled the Social Security debate by declaring that the able-bodied should save for their own retirement and medical care.
He criticized international bailouts of Russia as "crazy" and called the European Union "off the wall" for rejecting the General Electric-Honeywell merger.
His take on nuclear accidents: "If you set aside Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, the safety record of nuclear is really very good."
O'Neill also tilted against administration dogma-- initially questioning the short-term benefits of the Bush tax cut and advocating an aggressive battle to combat global warming.
O'Neill once characterized a House Republican economic stimulus package as "show business," prompting one GOP congressman to call for his resignation.
On the collapse of energy giant Enron Corp., O'Neill said: "Companies come and go. It's ... part of the genius of capitalism." He said then he never considered intervening in Enron's spiral toward bankruptcy even though hundreds of Enron employees, whose 401(k) plans were invested heavily in company stock, lost their retirement savings when the value plummeted.
He was right about everything except for global warming, but it's easier to can him than keep him. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 6, 2002 12:06 PM
I doubt he is willing (just took a job with UBS), but God is Phil Gramm able to take over.
Posted by: MG at December 6, 2002 11:15 AMI initially liked the O'Neill pick for his outspokeness and outside Washington attitude. However, he really hasn't done much and a shuffle probably makes sense. Of course if Bush appoints a worse person it won't help him. I like the idea, floated by several others, to name Greenspan Sec of Treasury because he would have the clout to get things done.
Posted by: AWW at December 6, 2002 11:41 AMO'Neill is a good guy -- albeit not politically disciplined -- Lindsey was a good man too -- but bringing in a new team helps build momentum for some actual policy proposals. It's nothing personal against O'Neill and Lindsey, but now that there's a Republican congress more aggressive marketers and savvier coalition-builders are needed to push a legislative agenda.
Posted by: pj at December 6, 2002 1:18 PM