Neel is done carrying the cash. [WaPo]
Per Neel, Friday (May 1st 2009) was his last day as the head of the Treasury Department’s bailout operations. Kashkari’s whirlwind tenure was not without it’s critics …..
Although he scrambled to get the rescue’s operations running, often sleeping in his office and working seven days a week, during hearings lawmakers questioned his competence. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) once called him “a chump.”
…. and admirers.
“I deeply admire the guy,” Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said in an interview. “I think he’s a person of integrity. He’s creative, pragmatic and gets stuff done. I think he’s an A-plus public servant.”
Irrespective of whether his efforts were a success or a failure, one problem dogged Kashari’s tenure, the same issue with the Bush administration, lack of transparency.
Kashkari acknowledged that public relations was the issue that the Paulson team “struggled with the most.” In the fall, the Treasury’s objective was to keep the financial system from collapsing, Kashkari said. But the team failed to clearly explain how it was spending the money.
“Explaining our actions and our rationale is by far the hardest thing we’ve had to do because these programs are so complicated,” Kashkari said. “We definitely could have done that better.
When Kashkari was tagged by Paulson to take over the government bailout program, the biggest problem he faced was: the government employees themselves.
The Treasury had a lot of staffers who could develop and write policy papers, but not many who could be part of a new government investment initiative.
He tried recruiting but many withdrew their names when they grasped the enormity of the job at hand. Nevertheless, Kashkari ended up building a financial rescue program with over a 100 employees drawing much accolades from the Obama administration.
Kashkari is likely to be replaced by former Fannie Mae chief executive Herbert Allison.
Kashkari leaves Washington with an impressive résumé, from designing NASA satellites as an aerospace engineer, to a stint at Goldman Sachs, to Paulson’s understudy, to head of the $700 billion dollar financial bailout program.
So what will this multi-talented follicly challenged rocket scientist turned bailout czar do next?
He said he has no immediate plans except to disappear with his wife for several months to their cabin near Lake Tahoe.
Good luck to the man who Kari-ed the Kash.
Other posts on Kashkari:
Enter the Kashkari
The Kashkari Lives
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