[jeffkrol]

Thought it was funny.. in a sense:

Based on his previous title, Summers was hired to be president of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006, then was forced to resign after a no-confidence vote by the faculty. One of several reasons: He said few women were scientists because they had a “different availability of aptitude at the high end.”
Based on these failures, President Obama made Summers director of the White House National Economic Council. (What’s wrong Mr. President, wasn’t Cosmo Kramer available?)

All of which brings us to:
Financial Times
April 29, 2012
Growth not austerity is best remedy for Europe
By Lawrence Summers

Once again Europe’s efforts to contain its crisis have fallen short. It was perhaps reasonable to hope that the European Central Bank’s longer-term refinancing operation to provide nearly $1tn in cheap three-year funding to European banks would halt the crisis for a while if not resolve it.

“Reasonable” only if one agrees with lending money to nations, that because they are monetarily non-sovereign, have no means to repay.

It is now clear it has been little more than a palliative. Again, both Europe and the global economy approach the brink.

What a surprise! Who could have predicted that?

The premise of European policy making is that countries are overindebted and so unable to access markets on reasonable terms and that the high interest rates associated with excessive debt hurt the financial system and inhibit growth. So, the strategy is one of providing financing while insisting on austerity.
Unfortunately, Europe has misdiagnosed its problems and set the wrong strategic course. Outside Greece, which represents only 2 per cent of the eurozone, profligacy is not the root cause of problems.

In this, Summers is right, although profligacy is not the cause of Greece’s problems, either.

Its financial problems stem from lack of growth. The right focus for Europe is on growth. In this context increased austerity is a step in the wrong direction.

At this point, I thought the old Lawrence Summers had disappeared, and a new, well-informed person had taken his place. But it was not to be.

Yes, there will ultimately be a need to raise retirement ages, reform sclerosis-inducing regulations and restructure benefit programmes. Phased in, commitments in these areas would be constructive.
Summers continues to enhance his legacy. He has helped cause a recession (under Clinton), exacerbate another one (under Obama), insulted women’s intelligence and abilities, suggested punishing older people by raising retirement ages, suggested abetting corporate dishonesty and advocated reducing benefits to the poor.

What next for Lawrence Summers? Based on his ability to fail to the top, President of the United States?

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell