Geithner, the empty seats at Treasury, and Max Weber

Published in La Repubblica
(Italy) on 23 March 2009
by Federico Rampini (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Simone Urru. Edited by Patricia Simoni.
It became a “case” in America and in the World: U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Geithner just can’t fill in the blanks in his department’s organizational chart. In Washington, his mistakes in the AIG scandal (Obama had to tell him off and intervene on managers’ bonuses) were ascribed to his lack of help at the head of a department that faces huge challenges in difficult times.

Foreign capitals are even meaner. Gordon Brown confides that in preparation for the G-20 in London, he can’t have a constructive dialogue with Americans, “because at Treasury in Washington, nobody answers the phone”. Still, you can’t really say that Geithner isn’t trying to recruit collaborators. Of course, he is offering low salaries in comparison with the private sector, but right now there are a lot of young bankers and top managers out of work. And the modest entries are compensated by the possibility of proudly taking part in a historic mission: to save America and the World from depression.

The lack of managers gave birth to a malicious explanation: “Treasury no longer has appeal since candidates learned they would have to prove in Senate hearings that they always have paid taxes”. Max Weber, the one who wrote “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, would probably be ashamed.


E’ diventato un “caso” in America e nel mondo, il fatto che il segretario al Tesoro Geithner non riesca a riempire le caselle vuote nell’organigramma del suo ministero. A Washington si attribuiscono i suoi errori sullo scandalo Aig (Obama ha dovuto tirargli le orecchie per intervenire sui bonus dei manager) al fatto che Geithner è senza aiutanti, alla guida di un ministero che affronta sfide immani in un clima di emergenza.

Le capitali straniere sono ancora più ingenerose. Gordon Brown mormora che in preparazione del G-20 di Londra non riesce ad avere un dialogo costruttivo con gli americani “perché al Tesoro di Washington non c’è nessuno che risponde al telefono”. Eppure non si può dire che Geithner non stia cercando di reclutare collaboratori. Certo gli stipendi che offre sono poca cosa rispetto al privato, ma in questo momento ci sono fior di giovani banchieri e top manager a spasso. E poi il guadagno modesto è compensato dall’orgoglio di partecipare a una missione storica, salvare l’America e il mondo da una depressione.

La penuria di dirigenti ha generato una spiegazione maliziosa: “Il Tesoro non attrae più, da quando i candidati hanno scoperto che nelle audizioni al Senato dovranno dimostrare di aver sempre pagato le tasse”. Deve rivoltarsi nella tomba Max Weber. Quello de “L’etica protestante e lo spirito del capitalismo”.
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