(Larry) Summers: U.S. economy backs away from abyss

[sabra]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States averted a financial catastrophe but sustainable recovery depends on redirecting the economy away from consumption, a top White House economic adviser said on Friday.

In excerpts of remarks prepared for delivery later on Friday, Lawrence Summers also defended President Barack Obama's "ambitious" policy agenda, saying it would lay the foundation for future prosperity.

"We were at the brink of catastrophe at the beginning of the year but we have walked some substantial distance back from the abyss," Summers said in excerpts of a speech released by the White House. "Substantial progress has been made in rescuing the economy from the risk of economic collapse that looked all too real six months ago."

Summers said the rebuilt U.S. economy must be more export-oriented, with less of a focus on consumer spending and the sort of financial engineering that has been blamed for contributing to the current economic crisis.

The economic recovery should be "more middle-class-oriented and less oriented to income growth that disproportionately favors a very small share of the population," he said.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Economy/idUSTRE56G4UC20090717

[DJ13]

1. I really cant stand that guy

[smiley_glad_hands]

2. Sure, but I do like what he just said though. eom

[TheWatcher]

19. Of course you do. because it's what you want to hear. Regardless of whether it is actually true.

With your perception comfortably managed, you don't have to think for yourself, or bother to look outside the obvious Propaganda they feed you about the economy every day, because it's more important to feel good than face said reality.

I understand.

Doesn't change anything though.

Mainstream Economic News is useless.

You'll find that out. When it's too late of course.

[sarcasmo]

21. Those of us in Michigan know all to well the way our economy is going and it is NOT up.

[TheWatcher]

23. My heart really goes out to people in Michigan right now.

It is frightfully bad there, and I am really getting worried about my friends who live there.

[Tansy_Gold]

27. ditto here.

It is so tragic and so unnecessary. I just want to go out in the street and scream at the assholes in Washington DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THOROUGHLY AND COMPLETELY YOU HAVE FUCKED THIS COUNTRY AND ITS CITIZENS?

But they know, they know perfectly well what they've done. They knew it while they were doing it. Couldn't have imagined, surprised by the results, oh give me a fucking break. THEY KNEW and THEY KNOW.


But there will always be people who believe them because it is so much easier to believe a comfortable lie than face a harsh and dangerous truth.

:hug: to you all.



Tansy Gold

[TheWatcher]

28. They Not only Knew, Know, and Continue to Know, they did it BY DESIGN.

And until the American People decide to do what the Declaration SPECIFICALLY Instructs, I am afraid they will continue, and John Adams will continue to repent in Heaven that he took half the pains.....

:hug: to you to, Dear Tansy :)

[Tansy_Gold]

29. Oh, there are posts and there are threads that show the

True Believers are alive and well at DU, and they frighten me as much as TPTB, who would never dirty their hands.

Tansy Gold, thinking more of Abigail. . . .

[joeglow3]

32. They are looking at the nation as a WHOLE

Not just one state. That said, people need to realize jobs are NOT coming back. That said, I know for a fact other companies are going to be facing huge amounts of their workforce retiring in the next 10 years, so they are recruiting heavily in Michigan (Union Pacific for one). Maybe the government can offer aid for out or work people moving to where the jobs are/will be.

[blue_onyx]

33. Have you heard of the saying

"You're only as strong as your weakest link." I think that applies to the country. The idea that it's no big deal if Michigan is suffering as long as the rest of the states are doing ok is absurd. If people had been paying attention to MI over the last few years, maybe the economic collapse wouldn't have been so surprising to so many people. Michigan is the most salient example of what our economic policies are doing to this country. In order for our country to be strong, we need all of our states to be strong.

[joeglow3]

35. The is economically impossible

There ARE jobs in other parts of the country. You cannot tell people, "hey you can live wherever you want and we can guarantee the jobs will be there also." My neighbor lost his job a couple months ago is now moving 800 miles for a new job. It sucks, but he needed to go where the work was. Likewise, if other areas are booming and Michigan is not, why the hell don't people go to where the jobs are? If cost is the reason, I agree that the government needs to help pay for this.

[blue_onyx]

36. It's never that simple

People have homes which they can't sell, their spouse may have a job they can't leave, or may have some other commitment that makes leaving difficult.

Part of MI's problems is the crappy trade policies that are pushing jobs out of this country. I don't buy your argument that the jobs aren't coming back. If we changed our trade policies to give companies the incentive to build products here, some of the jobs would return.



"if other areas are booming"

There's no place that's really "booming", other than Texas.


"hey you can live wherever you want and we can guarantee the jobs will be there also."

Can I ask where you live? I have a feeling that standard would be different if we were talking about California. To hell with MI...we thank you for your consideration

[joeglow3]

37. I live in Nebraska

Hence, I know UP is recruiting heavily in Michigan for their aging workforce.

Regarding trade policies, we have tried that. All that happens is other countries will slap all our products with tariffs and we would simply isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. Historically, this has spelled economic doom.

[blue_onyx]

39. Oh I see

So your state is doing well with a pretty low unemployment rate so to hell with other states? How very considerate of you.


"Regarding trade policies, we have tried that"

Care you share exactly how "we have tried that" already? Since Reagan, our has country has bought into the "free trade" supply-side economics bullshit while watching the poor get poorer, the middle class suffer, and the rich get richer. I don't believe this is the best we can do. I hope Obama addresses our trade problems because I think our economic strength depends on it.

[joeglow3]

43. Really? That is your response

I am saying lets help people out in terms of getting jobs. I am not saying we need to do more to ensure farmers in the central and western parts of the state keep their jobs. I have relatives who have had to adapt because their farming jobs became unprofitable and move to where the jobs were. I am not saying to hell with the citizens. Rather, I am saying there ARE jobs in other areas and sometimes you have to move to where the jobs are. You can't just there and demand people bring jobs to you.

Additionally, I have made it clear I support our government help people out by covering the costs of moving to a new area, as this can be a huge contraint for many people.

[blue_onyx]

46. Well,

"You can't just there and demand people bring jobs to you."

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying I want fair trade policies that would help bring back jobs for people in areas like the "rust belt."

It's interesting that you failed to share the examples of how fair trade polices supposedly failed in the past.

[joeglow3]

48. See Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot-Hawley_Tariff

[blue_onyx]

49. First, It's a very different world now

Second, you are making the assumption that changing our trade policies, like ending NAFTA, would hurt us.

"foreign governments moved to increase rates against American products"

Foreign government are putting us at a disadvantage now. Back then, the foreign governments had the sense to do what's in their best interest. Now, the US practices "free trade" while other countries do things that benefit their country, companies, and citizens. For example, Japan doesn't allow our automakers to build factories in their country and also has high import taxes. This give Japanese automakers a big advantage at home and allows them to subsidize their North American operations.

My main point is that "free trade" is not really free trade. If our government officials were smart enough, they would require other countries to treat our companies the same as we do theirs or alter our trade policies. The idea that putting our country on equal economic footing as our foreign trading partners would lead to economic ruin is absurd.

[joeglow3]

50. China and India are the countries that are killing us

Not Japan.

That said, one thing that will be the same is other countries WILL increase their tariffs if we increase ours.

[mbperrin]

38. Lay off the Texas is booming. 9.1% unemployment here in the heart

of oil country. Sales tax collections by the state down 25% in this area on the last quarter.

Garage sales literally on every corner.

One strip center near the house completely empty, the other a half block away 1/3 empty.

Even at such a modest place as Blockbuster, Saturday night at 7, we were the only customers, and the Subway next door had none.

People keep coming here from Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and Idaho. I wish they wouldn't. Even my high school students are being pushed out of fast food and convenience store jobs by greyhairs.

[blue_onyx]

41. Well, it seems like Texas is booming

I've heard of numerous people moving to Texas recently. My neighbor recently took a job in Houston and will be moving there full time soon. I think he hopes to come back to MI eventually though.


"People keep coming here from Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and Idaho. I wish they wouldn't."

My fellow Michiganders wish they didn't have to come to Texas but some have no choice.

[mbperrin]

42. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound unfriendly. What I meant was that there

are no real jobs available here. My own grandparents came here from Oklahoma 83 years ago, so there's no problem with that.

We own some apartments and other rental properties, and we get many calls from people who've just arrived from out of town on speculation of finding a job.

We did rent to one tenant from Wisconsin who has a PhD in Chemistry who found a job as a lab tech with WellTech in Midland, 20 miles away. He's making $11 per hour there.

We went through this here in the 80s as well. Unemployment was over 20% at that time, but because the actual boom had gone on during the 70s, people just kept coming. The really sad part is when they've used the last of their money to get here, and they find nothing and to boot are separated from family, friends, and other support systems.

I'm a native here, but I have to tell you that the social services net is really thin and right now, so are jobs above some kind of entry level.

I wish only the best for our good neighbors all over the country, and I wish I had any reason to think that things will be looking up soon, but as my granddad used to say, "It's not any worse than gettin' run over by a truck!" (He was and lived to be 86, hearty and vigorous).

[mbperrin]

44. Just saw this over in editorials. Unemployment system in Texas is broke.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x464755

[blue_onyx]

45. I didn't take your previous message as unfriendly

Yes, it's bad everywhere. Just compared to MI, Texas seems like it is booming. Personally, I have a 4 year college education and I can't find anything here. I've been looking for longer than I would like to say but I'm trying to stay. I have no desire to move so as long as I'm able to stay here, I will. MI has a lot of potential for the future so I have some hope (some examples at the link, if you're interested).

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6097099&mesg_id=6099295


The economy has been tough on everyone...good luck to you and your fellow Texans :)

[lindisfarne]

12. He clearly showed his inability to think critically when president at Harvard so I don't trust a

word that comes out of his mouth.

[Deja Q]

3. I like a lot of what he says...

export-oriented means more jobs...

though some of the details...

Lessening consumer spending means just what, exactly? People were spending on useless things like tuition, rent/house, food, tools that schools can't seem to provide despite their costs (it's sad to pay $500/credit and be told to buy ____ from the store)... some frivolity, no argument on that either...

In short, over-simplification can be worrisome too.

[ixion]

4. wishful thinking, that....

the reality is the situation is still very much alive. The only thing the 'stimulus' did was buy time at a high-risk interest rate.

[Birthmark]

5. HIS part of the economy has backed away from the abyss.

What he fails to see is the huge number of "nobodies" that are tumbling over the edge daily.

[Autumn]

8. That is what really sucks,

is that just because they are doing better that is all that matters.

[Birthmark]

9. Well, take solace in the fact...

...that we and our children and grandchildren have made it all possible for them. They won't thank us, of course, but why should they? They're better and more important than us.

:sarcasm:

[Autumn]

11. Yeah, warms my heart n/t

[Orsino]

34. Yes. HIS class has successfully distracted us...

...and forestalled serious questioning of the privileged class.

[LoKnLoD]

6. They sure love

They sure love to pat themselves on the back for giving all our taxpayer money to save their buddies on Wall Street who brought us to the brink of this so-called "catastrophe".

[Jefferson23]

7. Summers,

The economic recovery should be "more middle-class-oriented and less oriented to income growth that disproportionately favors a very small share of the population," he said.


Too bad about the bank bailouts getting in the way, eh Larry?

[Myrina]

10. If that was truly what you believed, Larry ...

... then why didn't stimulus money go directly to people to pay off credit cards/loans etc and get on solid footing so they don't have to buy-on-credit instead of giving it to the banks and finance companies as a way to 'encourage them to lend more' back to us & continue our addiction to living-on-credit ??


:shrug:

[TheWatcher]

20. Because it was never MEANT to do any of that.

Welcome to the Greatest Heist in History.

All done at your expense with your tax Dollars of course.

Where did the money go? Bernanke said you can't see it, and neither can Congress.

Oh well, at least the Ponzi Scheme will keep going.

And hey, Football Season will be along in a couple of months, so there is no time to think about all this hard stuff when one has to figure out the Fantasy Football team.

Besides, our leaders are busy playing a monumentally complex game of Chess with variables we couldn't possibly understand, so it's best to leave the Oligarchs to do what's best for themsel....um, I mean us.

Nothing to see here really.

Let's go pick some "Green Shoots"

I hear in Oregon you can turn in any you find and get $5 a bushell AND a free Application to the Wal-Mart of your choice.

Offer Void in Michigan. (Employment is no longer allowed there it seems)

[Iowa]

13. An interpretation...

What Summers actually said:
"...the rebuilt U.S. economy must be more export-oriented, with less of a focus on consumer spending..."

His "double-speak" interpretation:
"After 30 years of Republican and Republicrat rule, the oligarchy's re-engineered U.S. economy is gearing up for slave-wage jobs, and a much lower standard of living for the masses."

[hunter]

30. We're gonna be the new China! Oh boy!!!

:wow:

[Javaman]

14. LOLOLOL must be nice to live in a box! LOLOL

up to 600,000 retail jobs are going to be cut. how is that a recovery when the retail industry, which as of late basically runs this nation of shop-a-holics?

So amusing. I'd cry if I didn't stop laughing to hard at this complete and utter display of buffoonery.

[PurityOfEssence]

15. Well, he should know...

He's been a very helpful enabler of the kleptocracy that drove us there.

For some who define "the economy" as the health of the stock market and various industries, then the crisis has been somewhat dodged, but for the peasants being ground under the heels of the smiling manipulators of derivative wealth, it decidedly hasn't.

Summers and Geithner are blood-brothers in this economic monarchy run amok, and Rubin is just another part of the problem. Just as Michael Jackson spent his whole adult life trying to conquer his body, the Reagan revolution's quest to systematically undo the New Deal also succeeded: it brought us right back to the same unregulated shell-game's inevitable result.

So, here's the big question: is Barack Obama misguided in his trust of the intertwined master-manipulators like these guys and Rahm (let's not forget his greasy sojurn as an investment banker) and thus a hapless naif, or is he part of the problem? I think he's misguided in thinking that corporatism and free trade are the only way and just need a bit of tweaking, but being at the very heart of the darkness, it's hard to sustain a belief that he's just a starry-eyed idealistic ideologue.

Regardless, Summers is a blood-sucking financial glutton, and he's not to be trusted.

[ShortnFiery]

16. Yeah yeah ...

Right Larry, you pompous freak!

Now take your medication and go back to sleep. :puke:

[Grinchie]

17. Now we are into the first few seconds of Freefall into the Abyss

I'm sure his parachute is ready to go.

[LongTomH]

24. What was that joke about the guy who jumped off the Empire State Building?

As he passed the 80th floor, he yelled out: "I'm enjoying it so farrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!"

[Wednesdays]

18. K&R

:kick:

[taught_me_patience]

22. Translation: Goldman Sachs has backed away from the abyss.

Who gives a shit what this guy "thinks" about the economy. Goldman Sachs tool.

[Paranoid Pessimist]

25. Americans THINK the economy has backed away from the abyss

But, when you're backing away, you can't see what's behind you. As we back away from a seeming abyss, we are in denial and unaware of the even bigger abyss we're about to step into.

[notesdev]

26. I'd say the same

if I also had $7 million sitting in the bank courtesy of Wall Street.

[Javaman]

31. backs away and falls off cliff. nt

[Vidar]

40. Right.He & his robber barons only want another 23.7 trillion dollars.

[DebbieCDC]

47. Sure Larry, for you maybe

What a POS.

[BOG PERSON]

51. if thou gaze long into Larry Summers' pig eyes

Larry Summers' pig eyes will also gaze into thee