I realize that Tim Geithner is very well qualified for the job of Secretary of the Treasury. I realize that our economy is in the toilet and action is needed ASAP. I realize that people make mistakes and deserve forgiveness, however, I do not think that Geithner should be in charge of tax laws he totally disregarded personally.
People guilty of financial crimes are usually not allowed to work in a financial situation. People guilty of pedophilia are not allowed to work in schools or other facilities where they will have access to children. Why the double standard for Geithner? No matter how you look at it, he was guilty of not obeying tax laws. He didn't pay his own taxes until later, and had a illegal housekeeper. These are direct violations of the Tax Laws that we now are going to allow him to be in control of. There are plenty of other economists who are ready, able, and willing to step in to the Secretary of Treasury slot. Chances are, they haven't been found guilty of violating the laws they would now be in charge of. I think this was a poor choice from President Obama. This smacks of the usual "The law doesn't apply to Washington".
I find this very hard to swallow. I understand that Geithner later paid the taxes and the fees that went along with them, but that doesn't change the fact that he did it in the first place. There have been a number of nominees that were not able to be confirmed to the posts they were nominated for because of tax issues. How does it look when the man who will be heading the IRS is guilty of the exact same thing?
You dropped the ball on this on President Obama. Find someone with a cleaner slate.