GEITHNER ON CNBC:
8:35 -- The economy is still healing. Then we had a bunch of adverse shocks - the drama in Europe, the terribly damaging political disfunction. It leaves people wondering whether the political system can do right thing. That's very damaging to confidence.
8:37 -- Europe has a terrible growth problem. Angela Merkel said they are absolutely committed to holding this together and they have the force and capacity to do so. They recognize how severe the constraints are right now and they realize that they have to convince the world that they have the politcal will to do this.
8:38 -- Cramer: Do they have a plan for the firms with exposure to the crisis? Geithner: Think about Europe. Europe has a much more indulgence attitude to supporting their institutions. There is not a chance that there will be another Lehman. Angela Merkel has to do what it takes to keep her promise that there is zero chance of a Lehman.
8:42 -- This is Europe's challenge and they have the capacity to meet that challenge. The people that are concerned that the challenges are beyond their grasp are completely wrong.
8:47 -- Capital gains. No one likes to see their taxes go up. We have to make judgments about how we live within our means as a country. We think it makes sense to make modest changes in the current tax benefits of the richest Americans.
What's the alternative?
Raising taxes of other Americans is a tough challenge in our environment. We could cut healthcare, but there are limits to what we could do that is fair.
8:49 -- (Geithner is looking grey)
8:50 -- Cramer: How are you going to make people re-finance? Geithner: That's why rates are low.
8:51 -- Cramer: Is there going to be an investigation to find out if there's hedge fund speculation in oil that's driving it higher? Geithner: I think oil is driven by fundamentals. Prices have come down to a point where they're not a constrain on growth.
8:52 -- Cramer: Should we outlaw CDS on things we don't own? Geithner: No you dont want to get in the way of people hedging their risk. That's bad for the economy. Bad for growth.
8:53 -- Cramer: Will you change the repatriation laws re: tax reform? Geithner: We're not going to do that outside of simple tax reform.
8:35 -- The economy is still healing. Then we had a bunch of adverse shocks - the drama in Europe, the terribly damaging political disfunction. It leaves people wondering whether the political system can do right thing. That's very damaging to confidence.
8:37 -- Europe has a terrible growth problem. Angela Merkel said they are absolutely committed to holding this together and they have the force and capacity to do so. They recognize how severe the constraints are right now and they realize that they have to convince the world that they have the politcal will to do this.
8:38 -- Cramer: Do they have a plan for the firms with exposure to the crisis? Geithner: Think about Europe. Europe has a much more indulgence attitude to supporting their institutions. There is not a chance that there will be another Lehman. Angela Merkel has to do what it takes to keep her promise that there is zero chance of a Lehman.
8:42 -- This is Europe's challenge and they have the capacity to meet that challenge. The people that are concerned that the challenges are beyond their grasp are completely wrong.
8:47 -- Capital gains. No one likes to see their taxes go up. We have to make judgments about how we live within our means as a country. We think it makes sense to make modest changes in the current tax benefits of the richest Americans.
What's the alternative?
Raising taxes of other Americans is a tough challenge in our environment. We could cut healthcare, but there are limits to what we could do that is fair.
8:49 -- (Geithner is looking grey)
8:50 -- Cramer: How are you going to make people re-finance? Geithner: That's why rates are low.
8:51 -- Cramer: Is there going to be an investigation to find out if there's hedge fund speculation in oil that's driving it higher? Geithner: I think oil is driven by fundamentals. Prices have come down to a point where they're not a constrain on growth.
8:52 -- Cramer: Should we outlaw CDS on things we don't own? Geithner: No you dont want to get in the way of people hedging their risk. That's bad for the economy. Bad for growth.
8:53 -- Cramer: Will you change the repatriation laws re: tax reform? Geithner: We're not going to do that outside of simple tax reform.
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