It shows that one day after April Fools Day, on April 2, Geithner met in New York City with Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show”. The meeting was an off-the-record meeting at Stewart’s office.
“Jon Stewart is influential in America, so we took the opportunity for the two to meet and to discuss the economy,” Treasury spokesman Steve Adamske said in an e-mail yesterday to Bloomberg.
Aside from the absurdity of discussing the economy with Stewart, check this out. It appears that Geithner cancelled a tour of a Bronx school project to hang with Stewart. This is what I reported on April 1:
Thursday, April 1, 2010 ALERT: Geithner Cancels New York AppearanceI then commented:
April 1, 2010 ALERT: Geithner Cancels New York Appearance
This may be nothing, but it should be noted.
Treasury Secretary Geithner has cancelled a scheduled visit to the Bronx on Friday to tour the Mott Haven Campus – a four-school construction project financed in part through Build America Bonds.
Here's how the Treasury's original press release announced the event:
SECRETARY GEITHNER TO VISIT BRONX SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, TOUT BENEFITS OF BUILD AMERICA BONDS
WASHINGTON – Highlighting the impact of the Recovery Act on job creation in hard-hit communities, Secretary Tim Geithner will travel to the Bronx on Friday to tour the Mott Haven Campus – a four-school construction project financed in part through Build America Bonds. When fully constructed, the four schools will educate more than 2,300 students and employ nearly 200 permanent staff members, according to the New York City Department of Education. Following the tour of the construction site, Secretary Geithner will hold a media availability.
The Build America Bonds program created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allows state and local governments to obtain much-needed financing at lower borrowing costs for new capital projects such as construction of schools and hospitals, development of transportation infrastructure, and water and sewer upgrades.
WHO: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner
WHAT: Mott Haven Campus school construction project tour and media availability
WHEN:Friday April 2, 2010 Media wishing to cover the b-roll opportunities of the Secretary’s tour should arrive by 8:45 a.m.
WHERE: Mott Haven Campus
730 Concourse Village West (between 153rd and 156th St.)
Bronx, NY
You could come up with a good parlor game trying to name all the possible inconsequential reasons the event may have been cancelled. Still it's an anomaly. Is there a reason Geithner needs to be in D.C. tomorrow and, possibly, this weekend?
Never in my wildest dreams did I think that Geithner was going to diss a Bronx project so he could hang with Stewart. Far out.
Just a coincidence Stewart proceeded to up-the-ante with his outright polticial activism via a rally in Washington in October?
ReplyDeleteWhy are public officials allowed to do ANYTHING "off the record" in an open, transparent democratic political system, anyway?
You have some interesting economic points abouts about new york school construction. In order to make sure money isn't wasted, I think the most important step is to research the options using a site like McGraw Hill's New York Construction Site. They help make is easier to get on the right track because they offer a lot of information on the materials, manufacturers, and companies that are available. While I do work with them, I have honestly used them myself because they have been a big help. I particularly find their CAD details to be useful. You should check them out.
ReplyDelete