Reading the Worried Mind of Tim Geithner

With the economic recovery nowhere in sight and the midterm elections nearing, what would Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner say if he could speak freely?

In my latest column for CNN.com, I try to image what Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is thinking as he waits for the economy to rebound and with the midterm elections drawing closer.

William Safire used to write a column in which he'd try to read the mind of some world leader and imagine what Mikhail Gorbachev or Anwar Sadat really thought, as opposed to the diplomatic niceties they were obliged to utter aloud.

In homage to the master, let me try an imitation: reading Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's mind:

"Everybody asks me what the next plan is. There is no plan! We have broken our leg and we have to wait for the leg to heal. It's just a matter of time. And most of the bright ideas to heal faster will only make things worse.

"The banks need time. They are all broke. We have them on life support, lending them money at 0 percent and then allowing them to buy Treasury bonds at 2 percent. It's basically welfare to help them reduce their debts.

"Consumers need time. We can sprinkle money at them, but they aren't going to spend it. They borrowed and borrowed during the real estate bubble. Now they are paying off their credit cards, paying down their home equity lines. Don't look to them to start buying again until they feel more confidence they won't be laid off tomorrow.

"Employers need time. They won't resume hiring until business revives, and business won't revive until consumers have paid off their debts. Paul Krugman keeps telling me that the U.S. government should play the role of consumers: Borrow another trillion dollars and start buying something, anything. Easy for him to say -- he won't get the 2 a.m. margin call from the central bank of China. ...

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