Tim Geithner: “We've seen some encouraging signs. The pace of deterioration has started to slow. Some improvement, but it took a long…”

I think you see reflected there, like you see reflected across the country, a deep sense of concern about the fact that we have 9 million Americans out of work.

Absolutely. Yes, again, we see there's no prospect to an agreement that doesn't involve those rates going up on the top 2 percent of the wealthiest Americans.

People don't like to pay taxes. But they are more likely to pay taxes if you can make them more confident that they are not going to be wasted by their government.

The basic sense that you see across the country that the political institutions in this country are not up to the challenges we face, unable to act, unable to solve problems, is absolutely weighing on confidence.