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And Do Explain It to Us
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday that he has been urging China to quickly move its currency toward a market-driven exchange rate, and that delaying such a reform would only hurt the Chinese economy in the long run.
“Time is of the essence,” he said at a forum at the Peterson Institute for International Econonics, a research group in Washington.
Speaking of delaying reform, Paulson said Chinese leaders can’t understand why the United States isn’t moving quickly toward fixing its coming budget crisis. He said they know both Republicans and Democrats agree that Social Security and Medicare are in trouble as baby boomers begin retiring. But Congress keeps delaying any real reforms.
“It’s sometimes interesting to try to explain to people in other countries … why we’re not able to fix it,” Paulson said. He did not mention that it can be difficult to explain here too.
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