General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPorcine formation at 30,000 feet - Larry Summers : "Austerity sucks!"
"Its the demand, not the supply, stupid!
Thats what a former Clinton and Obama administration official, addressing a UBS conference, said was behind the economys four years of weak growth. Larry Summers, former U.S. treasury secretary and director of the National Economic Council, called for more public and private spending. He also argued that fears about inflation and excessive government spending are unfounded.
This is no time for austerity, Summers said. The weak economy, whose growth rates have disappointed over the last four years, has a shortage of demand instead of an excess of supply, according to Summers, who was the featured speaker on Thursday at the UBS WM CIO Global Forum. Summers contended that the U.S. is in the grip of a deficit hysteria even though the debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to decline over the next decade.
Summers told the assembled advisors that the right fiscal and monetary policies for the U.S. will emphasize economic growth, not government spending cutbacks. He said increased public and private spending, including more public works projects, would restore confidence. Summers, in one of several times that he cited the 20th century economist John Maynard Keynes, said the nation is now caught in a liquidity trap. Individuals and business, with lots of cash on hand, are refusing to spend because they have lost confidence. He also cited Keynes paradox of thrift, which includes a warning that excessive saving can retard a recovery."
http://www.fa-mag.com/news/larry-summers-says-more-spending-needed-to-perk-up-recovery-15883.html
Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)of actually getting a sane economic policy to mitigate the ongoing disaster. Now, Larry, all we need is a reformed tax structure that siphons a little off the top to pay for all these public works, right?
I think the time is ripe for a real progressive sea change in this country. I think we could sweep in a progressive Congress if we got out there & put forward a humane civil-libertarian, Keynesian platform. The Turd Way has failed, and the sooner we euthanize it and get back to real Democratic values, the better.
Berlum
(7,044 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)when he's been wrong about something, and he's just a terrible administrator.
cthulu2016
(10,960 posts)The problem with Summers is that whenever he is in positions of power or influence he stops relying on his best economic judgment