Do You Know This Man?

Maybe it really will take a rocket scientist to fix the economy!

At least that's what Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson would have us believe with the selection of 35-year-old Neel Kashkari to head up the administration of the $700 billion (oops, we forgot) $850 billion financial bailout (oops, did it again) "rescue" plan.

Mr. Kashkari earned a degree in engineering and worked on technology for the NASA space program for a few years. Then he changed direction and earned an MBA at Wharton. He then went to work for - you guessed it - Goldman Sachs as an investment banker.

Henry Paulson recruited him to Treasury in July 2006 to promote trade ties with India. The following year, as mortgage markets started to become unglued, Mr. Kashkari became a leading adviser to Paulson on mortgage issues.

He developed the "Hope Now" program, which urges mortgage lenders to rewrite loans for troubled homeowners facing foreclosure. Unfortunately, this program has yet to live up to its promise.

With his focus on mortgage woes, Mr. Kashkari helped draft the above-mentioned financial rescue plan … a 3 1/2 page offering that morphed into the 451 page extra- spending plan that Congress passed last week. (Learn what hidden horrors the government managed to slide in there!)

Paulson must really believe that Kashkari is the reincarnation of the Mr. Wizard of our youth to take on one of the most important jobs in our country right now.

Here's what's expected of Kashkari:

• quickly round up a 10-person team of asset managers to buy billions in distressed mortgage assets from banks and Wall Street firms
• figure out what to pay for these assets
• calculate how long Uncle Sam should keep these assets to earn a profit
• avoid excessive oversight from Congress
• calm shaky stock markets around the world
• make sure there are no conflicts of interest on the part of asset managers whose own firms may own some of these junk mortgage assets
• leap buildings in a single bound

OK, so we added that last one!

Is a 35 year old, lacking decades of financial market experience, up to the rigors of this task?

Time will tell ... or will it? There ISN'T much time considering that we elect a new president in less than a month and the new occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave will want his own new team in charge.

We're not sure anyone has really thought this through ? good luck, Mr. Kashkari!