See Obama's tax plan changes to more like a Republican one? Also, Election coverage TV ratings in!!! for more context.
Obama Rolls out Economic Course-"Obama will also surround himself with new key economic players. The big name - Timothy Geithner - the president of the New York Federal Reserve will become Obama's new treasury secretary, the key government point man. When his name was leaked Friday, the stock market took off, gaining 500 points."
Next Treasury Secretary: NY Fed's Tim Geithner-"the pick of Treasury Secretary was deemed by many the most important choice for Obama, even topping the high-profile positions of Secretaries of State and Defense...News of Geithner's appointment was well-received by Wall Street, where stocks surged Friday afternoon. Billionaire investor and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) head Warren Buffett, a supporter of Obama during the general election, also told FOX Business he believes Geithner is a good choice for Treasury....Geithner might be a tough sell as representing change from the status quo as he was intimately involved in a number of controversial decisions, including the decision to allow Lehman Brothers to become the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, a move thought to have worsened the credit crisis.
Geithner is also tied to the hotly-debated decision to give AIG an emergency loan and helped orchestrate the firesale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase (JPM) last March. "
Obama's Tax Hike for the Rich May Be Delayed-"An economic crisis, rising joblessness and a credit squeeze can make a president-elect refine his words. Today's word is "repeal." During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to repeal President George W. Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy ahead of their scheduled expiration in 2011. It was part of how Obama would pay for an overall net tax cut aimed at low- and middle-income taxpayers, and an effort to bring what he called "fairness" to the tax system. No one is talking tax hikes now....Aides later said the plan would not include any of the tax increases Obama, as a candidate, had said he would impose on taxpayers who make more than $250,000....Asked Monday when those hikes might go into effect, Obama said, "Whether that's done through repeal, or whether that's done because the Bush tax cuts are not renewed, is something that my economic team will be providing me a recommendation on."...If repealed early, Obama's tax increase on the rich would have generated significant revenue, but not enough to compensate for the cost of his tax cuts. An analysis by the Tax Policy Center, based on January 2008 income projections, estimated that the increases would result in about $43 billion in revenue in 2009 and $45 billion in 2010. Those numbers would be smaller now, as the economy has lowered expected incomes. Obama's economic advisers say he will not propose any tax increases in the economic plan he unveils in January. It is to be focused entirely on job creation and economic recovery."
President-Elect Obama Introducing Economic Leadership Team on Monday-"But there were no plans to balance the tax cuts with an immediate tax increase on the wealthy. During the campaign, Obama said he would pay for increased tax relief by raising taxes on people making more than $250,000. "There won't be any tax increases in the January package," said one Obama aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details of the Obama package have not been fleshed out. Obama could delay any tax increase to 2011, when current Bush administration tax cuts expire."
