Porcine formation at 30,000 feet - Larry Summers : "Austerity sucks!"

[bullwinkle428]

"It’s the demand, not the supply, stupid!

That’s what a former Clinton and Obama administration official, addressing a UBS conference, said was behind the economy’s 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]

1. If even Summers is starting to see the light, maybe there's hope

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]

2. What you said !

[freshwest]

3. Uh-oh. I agree. Now that Rand puts a hold on Yellen, I see what his objection will be for Summers.

Since this is heresy to the libertarian teahadists. Milton Friedman and his Chilean economic plan would be Rand's dream choice, if zombies could hold office. Rand doesn't mind the dead bodies.

[geek tragedy]

4. On policy, Summers largely gets it right, the problem is that he can never admit

when he's been wrong about something, and he's just a terrible administrator.

[cthulu2016]

5. Summers is a good economist

The problem with Summers is that whenever he is in positions of power or influence he stops relying on his best economic judgment