What is the relationship between the IMF, the United States and the United States Treasury?
Well, the Treasury and the White House always, of course, deny this, but the reality that everybody understands in this field of global finance, is that the IMF takes instruction from the U.S. Treasury secretary. That is because we were the founder of the institution 50 years ago with Bretton Woods and because we are the principle financier, not the only one that funds it. Because this relationship accompanied the Cold War for so many years. Others deferred to the U.S. view of things … Nothing the IMF does of any importance happens without Robert Rubin checking off and saying, “Yes, I accept that or I don’t,” or whatever. Of course, that often ends up at the White House as a decision of the President, because the U.S. government, especially Bill Clinton, but his predecessors as well, are so committed to this laissez faire orthodoxy for the world, the Washington consensus and the notion that we all win if we just keep taking rules off of the table and let the market solve these things
