The Un-Paulson

I am hardly in a position to evaluate the qualifications of the new Secretary of Treasury but I note one important point on his resume: it appears that he is one person who has mastered the intricacies of the financial system without himself getting stinking rich. I haven't surveyed the roster in detail (but cf. link). And I concede there are some (few?) whose career does speak more of power than mere money. But perhaps it comes with the territory: most ST's appears to have a balance sheet that would do credit to Scrooge McDuck.

Timorhy Geithner's resume bears every evidence of solvency, sure, but riches are a different stdory. I grant that poverty cannot be regarded as necessarily a qualification for ST: if poverty alone were a qualification, why then we could just hoick up some derelict from outside the parking garage. And a taste for power can be just as poisonous to public discourse as a taste for wealth. But it might be refreshing for a change to have someone around who will not simply choke on his own dividends.