Geithner Speaks at Yesterday's Big Meeting
By Marc Tracy
So what was discussed at that meeting yesterday among administration officials, lawmakers, and small business owners?
The good: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner admitted that the small-business credit crunch lingers. Acknowledgement is the first step toward fixing. He even went a step farther, joining our very own Anonymous Banker in laying some of the blame for the status quo at the feet of the banks: "Banks bear some responsibility for the extent of the damage caused by the crisis. And they carry a substantial obligation to help our communities get back on their feet." It's also very much worth noting, as Robb Mandelbaum does, that Geithner actually stayed throughout the day. We know this stuff is important; it's good that he does, too.
The bad: as Daily Dose notes, Geithner's admonishment that the banks have got to lend to small businesses more amounted to little more than a "pep talk." Maybe if some of the lawmakers present--in addition to Geithner and Small Business Administration head Karen G. Mills, Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), the former the chair of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, were there--decided that the banks are not going to listen to mere pep talks and might require some greater inducement, then the credit would truly once again flow.
November 19, 2009 1:48 PM
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