Welcome to Fantasy Island, or in Secretary Tim Geithner’s case, Fantasy Economy.

Item the First: Geithner stated that the economy is “substantially stronger today than when the president took office” as determined by “any measure.”

Item the Second: After this, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) blasted him directly, saying “The public has lost all confidence in your ability to do the job.”

Secretary Geithner shot back, “What I can’t take responsibility is for the legacy of crises you’ve bequeathed this country.”

Let us examine both items.

The Czar thinks the first is handily dismissed. The first measure we can use is unemployment. The second is national debt. The third is consumer confidence. The fourth…well, you get the idea. Actually, it seems that by all essential economic measures, the economy is substantially ailing. Dunno. The Czar thinks a secretary of the United States Treasury really should understand this stuff.

The second item is interesting. What legacy did the outgoing administration leave?

A secretary of the United States Treasury really should understand this stuff.Well. To be fair to Secretary Geithner, things were pretty bad when he assumed command. But to be fair to the rest of the United States, things have clearly worsened since then. And not by a little. Some of the figures above are EPI.org projections based on the assumption the unemployment rate would not go above 10%, which it has.

Secretary Geithner: you have to learn to measure economic progress by more than the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Actually, smart economists avoid the DJIA entirely. Perhaps a night school course could help.

Here is one more measure Secretary Geithner can use to see what the public thinks about his mastery of economic and financial matters. Support for the current administration has dropped another 14 points to a record low of 27%. Only about one out of four people really like the current administration. Pick any four people, and only one agrees with you. Out of the Marx Brothers, you manage a Zeppo. Among the Three Stooges, that’s Shemp.

You can talk tough and deny all you wish, Mr. Secretary, but we are all looking at the same numbers. You really think Rep. Brady is wrong?

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.