Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 9:40AM Geithner Says Deficits Aren’t Crowding Out Private Borrowing
March 10, 2010, 5:00 PM EST... Business Week
By Rebecca Christie
March 10 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said U.S. budget deficits, while “unsustainably high,” are helping the economy recover from recession without hurting private borrowers.
When asked in testimony today before a House Appropriations subcommittee whether Treasury borrowing is crowding out private investment, Geithner responded “No, it’s not.” As evidence, he noted that the government is still able to borrow at rates that are “really remarkably low,” showing that Treasury debt isn’t pushing interest rates up and making it harder for others to get credit.
Geithner reiterated his view that the U.S. needs to spend money to fight the recession and financial crisis, and then focus on narrowing deficits once a recovery is entrenched. The U.S. had a $1.4 trillion shortfall in fiscal 2009, and the Obama administration is predicting a $1.6 trillion deficit in fiscal 2010, which ends Sept. 30.



