One problem is that this is an especially bad time to have a Presidential transition. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has more or less announced that he’s done making major policy calls, save for an emergency. He understandably — if a little too loudly amid a panic — wants to leave the field to the new Administration. Yet President-elect Barack Obama has seemed in no hurry to assemble an economic team, or perhaps he simply hasn’t been able to settle on one. With nerves as taut as they are, picking an HHS Secretary…before a Treasury chief is a rookie mistake.
A rookie is what was elected. He needs all our prayers all the more.
Remember those in authority in this and every nation….
Other than trying for an auto bailout, the Democratic leadership, Congress and President-elect, haven’t shown much leadership that the markets view as positive. Uncertain of the direction the government will take, and thinking that taxes and spending will both go up, the markets are not displaying confidence in the future.