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 Of Course We Have A Plan; We Just Don't Know What It Is - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 3/3/09 — Wednesday, March 04, 2009 —  Q February 10th, Secretary Geithner came out with his plan to deal with the banks, and there was obviously some negative reaction to that. And at the time we were told, well, this was a broad outline; details are going to be filled in. It's three weeks later, and a lot of analysts on Wall Street continue to say, we don't know where the bottom is because we don't know how many toxic assets are out there. So when are you coming out with more details?MR. GIBBS: Well, but let's complicate the question a little bit. Let's -- because I think you may have seemingly vastly oversimplified that the market on 20-some days ago acted on one piece of information and has followed Jake's trend for the better part of those three weeks in order to get us to where we are yesterday. Q There was a lot of negative reaction to the plan. We could agree on that. MR. GIBBS: We could, and we could also agree on that -- in watching your network I've seen any number of reports about the earnings of different companies. I've seen bank problems in Europe. I've seen bank problems in Eastern Europe. We've seen regulatory failings both here and overseas. I think the larger message of what the President was trying to convey today is that it's also overly simplistic to look at any one piece of information or one group of information that's driving the market in any particular direction. I'd -- Q Okay, so people could agree -- MR. GIBBS: Hold on, let me finish. I think the broad scope of data and information that we're getting denotes the fact that the economy is suffering severe problems. I think that's probably what has driven, in the short term, the market to where it is. And I don't think that's necessarily surprising given the data that we see. I don't -- I think the market is looking at what Mr. Buffett said over the weekend. I think the market is probably looking at the notion that the growth rate in the 4th quarter was vastly different than what we presupposed because we ended December -- we now understand that goods were sitting in warehouses, but not leaving stores. So I think a lot of things are priced into the market. Q We can agree the President can't control all this economic data, especially around the world and other countries. But he does have some control over what his administration is going to do about failing U.S. banks, toxic assets that these banks have on their books. And this administration said at the beginning they were going to deal with that problem. So the question is, putting aside all the other data, what is the administration doing to deal with U.S. banks? MR. GIBBS: Well, I've been asked in recent days about Citi. I was asked yesterday about AIG. As you know, Treasury and others are beginning the process of trying to find out exactly the health of banks given different economic scenarios. The President and his team have developed and passed through Congress a comprehensive recovery plan that is beginning. Tax cuts will start showing up in people's pay checks in April. Again, if you want to take just your time line of three weeks or three and a half weeks, I don't think the American -- I think the American people understand we didn't get into this problem in the beginning of February. So we're not likely to get out of this problem by the end of March. We've got many steps to take, and the administration and the President particularly have taken those steps: a home foreclosure plan that for the very first time deals with people that have played by the rules, but if the economy changes and gets even worse, they may find their selves the next on their block with a home foreclosure sign. So let's take steps to reduce that and make sure that the crisis in home foreclosures doesn't spread. The budget obviously doesn't just look in the short term, but lays out a long-term plan for economic growth. And I would be happy for any number of reasons if this were a three to six week problem. But I think the American people understand that. Q Does it take longer the longer it is for you to come up with a plan, is really my question, because if you keep three weeks, three weeks, then -- MR. GIBBS: Well, I guess our -- we're passing in the night largely because despite my enumeration of the many things that we're doing, you at least have priced into the market with the acceptance of -- Q But you came back to housing and other things, and I understand they're all part of the broader issue. MR. GIBBS: Right. They're all part of the broader issue because, again, as I've said many times from up here, there isn't just one thing that we have to do. There isn't just -- if just passing an $800 billion recovery plan would get the economy going again, I'm sure that would be received quite well here. We'd have more time, probably, on the weekend. But again, there's -- the economy faces many challenges, and the President and the administration are working day and night to address the many challenges that have gotten us to this point, and the many steps that we have to take over the course of the next many months to turn the economy around. And look, let me -- let me look ahead. We have unemployment numbers coming out on Friday. I don't anticipate that they're going to be good. I don't know anything, I'm just surmising. But I don't think that's -- I don't think that speaks to the implementation of the recovery plan. But I do believe and understand, and the President believes that we have taken and are continuing to take the steps that we need to get the economy back on track. Economy | Obama Administration | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | Treasury Secretary | Unemployment | White House Press Corps Labels: Economy, Obama Administration, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, Treasury Secretary, Unemployment, Wall Street, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:21:00 PM  One Measurement - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 2/11/09 — Wednesday, February 11, 2009 —  Q Robert, if I can follow up on Jennifer's question, do you feel -- the President said on Monday night in his press conference Secretary Geithner would unveil details the next day. Do you feel that -- do you feel that it was ready? Was the plan ready? Does the President feel it was ready? And number two, if so, is he pleased with how it was communicated yesterday and how it was rolled out?MR. GIBBS: I was going to say, you're not judging me already, are you? Again, I think there's a -- again, I think there's a tendency to look at simply one measurement of this, and by and large that measurement was a few stock markets. I don't believe -- Q Well, a few stock markets that people all over the country are investing in. MR. GIBBS: I understand, I understand. But what I'm saying is the plan wasn't created, nor do I think it should be judged by a one-day reaction in any of those stock markets. The plan that was outlined was ready. Again, part of what this plan will do will be to consult with those private entities in not just the formation, but the execution of the plan. And those consultations are ongoing. But again, the -- again, I just hesitate to judge the breadth of this and the comprehensiveness of this based on one day's reaction. I don't think that's -- I don't think that's how we judge the health of the financial system and I don't think it should be how one judges this plan. Q Even if you don't -- even if you disregard the fall in the market, there was widespread confusion about the plan, period. Is that a result of poor communication, or is that a result of it not -- just all the details not being there? MR. GIBBS: You know, I would ask you to go back and look at all of the news on this, read beyond the larger font and the bigger, bolder print, and dig deep into many of the things that I outlined that were pointed out as big weaknesses in the previous plan that are addressed by what Secretary Geithner said yesterday -- a plan that's based on transparency and disclosure; something that works with the private markets and understands that the taxpayers alone can't do all of this work; that coordinates among the agencies that are involved; that evaluates the financial health of the system and the individual banks, and does so by greatly expanding a program that we think will help provide credit to families and businesses and to people looking to buy homes right now. I think if you look through this you'll find -- you'll undoubtedly find, as I said, some disappointment by people that had hoped that there would be some large big bank announced that would take up in one fell swoop everything that had been wrong with the system over the course of several years and wipe it away overnight. But I think the President was very clear yesterday in saying there's no easy way out of this. There's no easy way out of this for the country, and there's also no easy way out of this for Wall Street. Economy | Obama Administration | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | Treasury Department | Treasury Secretary | White House Press Corps Labels: Economy, Obama Administration, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, Treasury Department, Treasury Secretary, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 7:58:00 PM Treasury Department Economic Contingency Plans - White House Press Briefing by Tony Fratto 9/29/08 — Monday, September 29, 2008 —  Q Treasury had been working on a contingency plan for an economic meltdown for over a year. Treasury told me that. Did the White House know this? Did you ever see details of this plan?MR. FRATTO: We work very closely with Treasury. Q So why is it so complex? I mean, why -- MR. FRATTO: It's a complex -- it is an incredibly complex problem. And I think you can see that Treasury was dealing with some very difficult issues: the failure of a major investment bank, the failure of the world's largest insurance company, the failure of two government-sponsored enterprises that needed to go into conservatorship. I think Treasury was ahead of this, but -- I think we said this last week, your first choice isn't a $700-billion-program commitment of taxpayer dollars. That is, I think, a last choice, a major government intervention into the financial sector. That's not what you lead with. You see if there are ways that we can try to contain the problem. That's what Treasury and the Fed tried to do. It had some limited success. But we've seen an incredible transformation in our financial sector right now. But we're in -- we're in a point where because of the tightness in credit, the extreme illiquidity in credit markets, that something major had to be done. And it was the decision of Secretary Paulson. Q But Treasury saw this happening, the possibility -- MR. FRATTO: No. No, the Treasury -- the Treasury was aware of a lot of different potential solutions, and this was one of them. Q They knew a problem was coming, that's why they were looking for solutions a year ago. I mean, why didn't they -- MR. FRATTO: I don't know about a year ago, if that's what they -- if that's what they've told you. But I know that they were looking at different ideas for a long time. But I -- still, I think the point that I made is the right point. You don't -- you don't do this kind of major intervention as a first choice. Q My point is they could have warned the public a year ago that something was coming; they could have talked to Congress. MR. FRATTO: They were warning the public. And they were talking a great deal about the problems in credit markets. And I know it's something Secretary Paulson had been focused on for a great deal of time. And in particular, his focus on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as the -- one of the largest players in mortgage backed securities, he had been focused on that for a great deal of time. The administration had been focused on it for six years, even long before the Secretary came to Treasury. Henry Paulson | Press Briefing | Tony Fratto | Treasury Department | Treasury Secretary | Wall Street | White House Press Corps Labels: Henry Paulson, Press Briefing, Tony Fratto, Treasury Department, Treasury Secretary, Wall Street, White House Press Corps >> Full Story
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:23:00 PM
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