Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Henry "Larry" Summers(born November 30, 1954) is an Americaneconomist,former Vice President of Development Economics and Chief Economist of theWorld Bank(1991–93), senior U.S. Treasury Department official throughoutPresident Clinton's administration (ultimatelyTreasury Secretary,1999–2001), and former director of theNational Economic CouncilforPresident Obama(2009–2010). He is a former president ofHarvard University(2001–2006), where he is currently aprofessorand director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government atHarvard University'sKennedy School of Government.
Quotes
edit1980s
edit- The country will not have to pay the piper. Through a combination of sound policy actions and a great deal of good luck we are well on our way to a soft landing and a period of growth and price stability.
- Lawrence Summers in:David Warsh(April 20, 1986) "Stockman's Timing Was Never Worse",Boston Globe,p. A1.
- The things you hear now aboutEuropeanunemployment-- that there are structural problems, thatreal wageshave failed to adjust, that there areinflationaryfears -- are the same things that were said during the early 1930. It is well established thatgovernment spendingbegan to pullGermanyout of its slump in 1935. There is no known reason why spending for peace can't do as well at getting the economy going as spending for war.
- Lawrence Summers in:David Warsh(April 27, 1986) "It Did Happen Here, Too",Boston Globe,p. A1.
- Takeovers wouldn't cause thestock marketto rise unless there is an upward reassessment of earnings (potential). People are more optimistic and confident about the future.
- Lawrence Summers in: Glenn Pascall (August 16, 1987) "Raiding Can Be Seen As Wake-Up Call For Corporate America",The Seattle Times,p. B4.
1990s
editI think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in thelowest-wage countryis impeccable and we should face up to that.... I’ve always thought that countries inAfricaare vastly underpolluted;their air quality is probably vastly inefficiently low compared toLos Angeles....Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging more migration of the dirty indus- tries to the Least Developed Countries? —Lawrence Summers, confidential World Bank memo, December 12, 1991
- Things take longer to happen than you think they will and then they happen faster than you think they will.
- Lawrence Summers in:David Warsh(February 11, 1992) "Avoiding Weimar Russia",Boston Globe,p. 37, Section: Business.
- No free country will ever again have anything like the 90 percenttax ratesthat we had in this country. Past a certain point, high marginal tax rates are, indeed, terribly destructive.
- David Wessel,The Wall Street Journal(April 5, 1998) "Rich now pay more in taxes",Mobile Register,p. F1.
- Where countries have been able to carry through on their reform commitments -- as inKorea,Thailandand thePhilippines-- results are starting to come in the form of lowerinterestrates, newinvestmentand increasedgrowth.
- David Ignatius (April 12, 1999) "Clinton's Capitulation on China",The Washington Post,p. A23.
- The situation in a number of countries reminds one that it's still a risky world out there in the emerging markets.
- Michael M. Phillips,The Wall Street Journal(April 16, 1999) "Global Economic Crisis In Its Last Days",Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,p. C-1.
2000s
edit- We must recognise that in an integrated world,tradecannot be divorced from other concerns. We need to promotefree tradeand serious global efforts with respect to common problems even as we support every nation's right to chart its own course.
- Statement made atWorld Economic Forum— reported in Muihoong (February 1, 2000) "China trade vote a key test, says Summers",The Straits Times,p. 9.
- I deeply regret the impact of my comments and apologise for not having weighed them more carefully… I was wrong to have spoken in a way that has resulted in an unintended signal of discouragement to talented girls and women.
- Apology letter addressed to Harvard University community, posted on his website — reported inReuters(January 26, 2005) "Summers Regrets",The Australian,p. 032.
- I know that there is one additional thing that I've learned and that is that what Harvard does and says has an enormous resonance that goes beyond Zip code 02138.
- Philip Kennicott (April 15, 2005) "The Man in The Ivory Tower - Harvard's Lawrence Summers Is a Study in Controversy"The Washington Post,p. C1.
- With uncertainty in oil markets, a buildup of speculative pressures and the large U.S. current account deficit, there is a real possibility that Paulson's crisis-management skills will be tested.
- David Ignatius (May 31, 2006) "Watching the Yellow Flags",The Washington Post,p. A19.
- ...it’s important to remember how fortunate we are as a country to have acurrencyand abond marketthat is seen in every way as a source of strength and it’s a huge responsibility for us to keep it that way.
- Tom Braithwaite (April 9, 2009)"Summers sees end to ‘sense of free-fall’",Financial Times
Quotes about
edit- Summers’s outlook on economic policy can be summarized by the remark that he gave me some years ago: “If I had your views oneconomics,I would find another profession.” He meant that iffree marketsusually worked well and thegovernmentought usually to stay out, then he would find economics to be an uninteresting occupation. Fortunately for Summers, he has always believed in the potential benefits from governmental activism, although the strength of this belief may have diminished over time.
- Robert Barro,Nothing is Sacred(2002), p. 33
- Bill Clintonand his two treasury secretary enablers,Robert Rubinand Larry Summers, instituted a system of unregulatedcapitalismthat has resulted in financial anarchy. This anarchic form of capitalism, where everything, including human beings and the natural world, is a commodity to exploit until exhaustion or collapse, is justified byidentity politics.It is sold as “enlightenedliberalism”as opposed to the old pro-unionclass politicsthat saw theDemocratsheed the voices of theworking class.Financial anarchy and short-term plunder have destroyed long-term financial and political stability. It has also pushed thehumanspecies, along with most other species, closer and closer towardsextinction.
- Chris Hedges,Papering Over the Rot.Scheerpost, February 1, 2021
- I vote to banish Larry Summers. Not from the planet. That wouldn't be nice. Just from public life. The criticisms of President Obama's chief economic adviser are well known. He's too close to Wall Street. And he's a frightful bully, of both people and countries. Still, we're told we shouldn't care about such minor infractions. Why? Because Summers is brilliant, and the world needs his big brain. And this brings us to a central and often overlooked cause of the global financial crisis: Brain Bubbles. This is the process wherein the intelligence of an inarguably intelligent person is inflated and valued beyond all reason, creating a dangerous accumulation of unhedged risk. Larry Summers is the biggest Brain Bubble we've got.
- Naomi Klein"Why We Should Banish Larry Summers From Public Life"(April 19, 2009)