Timothy Geithner, the former US Treasury secretary, may command higher speaking fees than most of his former colleagues – $200,000 on the last shot. But he is doing nothing out of the ordinary. Nor is he breaking any rules. Other former high officials, from Bill Clinton to Alan Greenspan, have charged more. Yet the fact that most people in Washington will shrug at Mr Geithner’s remuneration highlights how normal it is to profit from US public office – and within weeks of stepping down. Mr Geithner did not wait long after quitting to prognosticate with private equity groups about the future of US Federal Reserve monetary policy. If it merits their dime, it is worth having clearer guidelines about when – and from whom – former officials should accept fees to discuss policy.
前美國財長蒂姆•蓋特納(Timothy Geithner)的演講出場費或許比他的大多數同事都高——最近一次的演講讓他進賬20萬美元。但他既無不同尋常之舉，也沒有違背任何規則。比爾•柯林頓(Bill Clinton)和艾倫•葛林斯潘(Alan Greenspan)等其他前任高官的收費更高。但華盛頓圈子的大多數人對蓋特納的報酬只是不屑一顧，這反映出利用美國政府部門任職經歷在離任短短几周後「吸金」的做法已成常態。蓋特納卸任後沒等多久，便在私人股本集團的面前預測美聯準(Federal Reserve)貨幣政策的未來動向。如果說他們的這種生財之道是正當的話，那麼就應當提出更加明確的規範，規定前政府官員可在何時向何人收取報酬，來對政策高談闊論。
