As a newly minted presidential adviser setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Warren was invited to lunch by Treasury Secretary Geithner. First, he presented her with a cop’s hat. “Perfect!” she writes.
Then on the ride to the restaurant, she noticed that Geithner wasn’t wearing a seat belt. “Like a bossy third-grade teacher, I looked at him and said, ‘Put on your seat belt, Mr. Secretary.’ ”
“Like a naughty kid, he looked back and said, ‘I don’t have to.’ ” They were being driven in a government SUV with armed security, and Geithner assured her they were safe. She remained unconvinced.
During their lunch, “more than once, he said he was surprised that I believed so strongly in markets,” she writes. “More than once, I emphasized that markets are great – but only if there really is a level playing field where both sellers and their customers understand the terms of the deal.”
“On the drive back to the office,” she continues, “Secretary Geithner put on his seat belt.”
