No Tim, No

Caesar's wife must be above suspicion , as the saying goes. It is not just important to be right, you must also appear to be right. This is even more important for very public figures. That is why this post is titled No Tim, No .

Timothy Geithner, the former Treasury Secretary (in Indian parlance, Finance Minister) is going to become the President of Warburg Pincus, an investment banking firm. There is nothing legally wrong in what Geithner is doing. He was the Treasury Secretary during Obama's first term.  He left office in January 2013 and has been writing  a book since. Now comes the news that he is to become the head of Warburg. He is perfectly entitled to do whatever he wants once he steps out of pubic office.

The problem is the old one of Caesar's wife being above suspicion.The cosy nexus between businessmen and politicians is a significant problem today - especially in the US after Citizens United. The financial sector is in the eye of the storm of government attention and regulation , much of which Geithner himself started when he was Treasury Secretary. In his new role, he will have a considerable amount of interaction with the US government. While he may want to , and maybe even will, be prim and proper, it is inconceivable that he will apeear to be so in the eyes of the public. While we will be charitable to Warburg, it is not inconceivable that they hired him precisely for his political talents and connection.

This is the age old problem of government servants and regulators leaving their jobs, or retiring, and then joining the very corporates they regulated or oversaw.  In some countries there are statutory cooling off periods before they can do so. My belief is that it should never be done. It is impossible to ignore the conflicts of interest. Even if the individual concerned is meticulously honest, he will have to recuse himself from virtually any issue that has a bearing on his old job. That will make him completely ineffective. In effect, the very reason corporates hire them is to take advantage of their past connections. That is why it is wrong.

The reverse flow also happens. Corporate honchos join the government too - in the US many past Treasury Secretaries have been CEOs of Goldman Sachs. I would not go so far as to ban corporate types from joining the government - the flow of talent from the private sector to the government is one to be encouraged. But I believe, they should not take up a position that is in the same field as where they came from. I have no problem with say Henk Paulson becoming the Secretary of Education , but as Treasury Secretary, where his job would be to supervise his former employer Goldman Sachs , ...... that fails the test of Caesar's wife. I know this would not utilise his talent in his field of expertise, but if public trust in government is to be maintained, fairness must be above board. Do you really think Paulson's decision not to rescue Lehman Brothers, a hated rival of Goldman Sachs, can ever be whiter than white, even though it may have actually been so ?

I am well aware that such a view will be met with derision in today's circles as old fashioned, romantic rubbish. Yes, old fashioned values have little support in today's environment. But that does not detract from the merits of them. Pompeia, Ceasar's wife held a festival for women only in which Cloudius gatecrashed dressed as a woman, ostensibly for seducing her.  He was caught, but in the trial that followed, he was acquitted. And yet, Caesar divorced Pompeia, leading to that famous expression. Can you imagine in today's world, such standards being set by those in power. Alas, that is why governance today is at such a low point.  When values come to the fore again, we shall be governed by honourable people.