The Q&A followed a keynote speech that Kashkari gave at a conference in Midtown Manhattan, which was attended by hundreds of financial executives.

When it came time for questions, the former Goldman Sachs executive told the eager audience that he had time for just “two or three.”

In response to the first question, about the government’s latest lifeline for beleaguered insurance company American International Group, Kashkari gave a clipped response before quickly moving on.

“This morning’s action at AIG was a one-off event” that was necessary for the financial stability of the markets, he said. “He didn’t say anything that I couldn’t have learned from going to the Web site,” griped one mortgage entrepreneur. Treasury spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli said it’s not unusual for public officials to answer a few questions before moving on. Kashkari’s impatient tone comes amid a growing desire for openness about how government agencies, including the Treasury, are handling billions of taxpayer dollars being used to prop up Wall Street.

Yesterday’s news that the Treasury and Federal Reserve increased the size of American International Group’s rescue to around $150 billion from $123 billion intensified concern that Uncle Sam isn’t spending wisely.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg News sued the Federal Reserve for information under the US Freedom of Information Act, claiming the Fed refuses to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans as well as the troubled assets the bank is accepting as collateral.

There is just absolutely no transparency with this bailout, yet the taxpayers remain on the hook, big time. Will things change after 1/20/09?  It remains to be seen.

And oh yeah, hooray for Bloomberg News for suing under the FOIA. The press is supposed to act like that, in it’s role as representative of the people. That’s why all the snarking about the “liberal media” and the “unfairness” of the press that escalated during the McCain/Palin campaign is so destructive. It misinforms voters who are already lacking in understanding of how our system works and what the rights of “We, the people” actually are.

UPDATE: OMG, Neel Kashkari to Testify Before Congress on Friday. Does this mean there is going to be actual bailout accountability?

I am optimistic that some of the damage that was done during the Bush Administration is going to be reversed and signs seem to point in that direction, so far, although I’m disappointed that civil liberties and human rights issues are not mentioned in this article.

The ACLU has a suggested agenda of issues prepared for President Obama’s transition team to tackle. I’m totally on board with most of their suggestions and I hope our new President is too. The article above mentions “interest groups” – here’s hoping that the ACLU is one of those groups.

If you’re interested in learning a bit more about Viola Liuzzo, here is a ten minute bio of her that I found on YouTube: