Last Friday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner stressed the importance of preserving the global esteem of the U.S. dollar, calling on the United States to âÄúlive within its meansâÄù once the economy recovers. Last week, as the economy âÄúrecovers,âÄù unemployment rose to 9.8 percent, quarterly home foreclosure rates climbed, the dollar hit a 14-month low against a basket of currencies and U.S. budget reports showed a record $1.4 trillion deficit, one-tenth of national gross domestic product. Recovery, indeed. Despite his Treasury title, Secretary Tim is the last person who should be getting sanctimoniously thrifty. Geithner assisted the Federal Reserve Bank in issuing trillions of taxpayer-underwritten bailouts. And GeithnerâÄôs tax-dodging history, revealed earlier this year, enlivens the contrast between meaningful oratory and pointless pontification from those with little credibility. Americans can no longer afford the hollow recitation to âÄúkeep spending down.âÄù The plummeting dollar and the current record price of safe-haven gold illustrate exactly what the markets think of bailout bankster Secretary Hank Paulsen, Tim Geithner after him, and their loose economic policies. The world has a right to be skeptical. Democrats have spent too much; far worse, Republicans have spent too much and taxed too little. Before trusting any more politicians who talk about balanced budgets, protecting the dollar or living within means, check the record and the indicators. Secretary Tim, until we see consistency or results, no oneâÄôs buying.