Reuters: Money: Geithner: Can't let deficit fears stop investments

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Geithner: Can't let deficit fears stop investments Apr 4th 2012, 13:47 CHICAGO | Wed Apr 4, 2012 9:47am EDT CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday that Americans can't let fear of future deficits stymie necessary government investment in projects needed to spur growth. Speaking to the Chicago Economic Club, Geithner tackled Republican opponents of the Obama administration who claim that spending is excessive, effectively laying out the administration's economic agenda ahead of November's presidential election campaign. "There is no economic or financial case for using the fear of future deficits to cut as deeply into core functions of the government, to weaken the safety net or fundamentally alter Medicare benefits as do the Republican proposals," Geithner said. Geithner said Republicans' call for actions such as rolling back Wall Street reforms constituted "a dark and pessimistic vision of America." He said the economy still was in the process of deleveraging, or paying down excessive debts from the 2007-2009 financial crisis, but said it was growing moderately. Geithner said the challenges that the recovery still faces, including high rates of unemployment, can only be addressed through government actions such as long-term investments in infrastructure projects. "We have to be willing to do things, not just cut things," he said. While big budget deficits are not sustainable over time, Geithner said those challenges should not placed above all others and instead can be dealt with through a mix of spending cuts and revenue increases. (Reporting by Karen Pierog and Glenn Somerville; Editing by James Dalgleish) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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