Summers to head World Bank

[oddlots]

... possibly:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/larry-summers-world-bank-chief_n_1213782.html?ref=business

Ugh.

I recall this anecdote from Mosler:

"Several years ago I had a meeting with Senator Tom Daschle and then-Assistant Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. I had been discussing these innocent frauds with the Senator, and explaining how they were working against the well-being of those who voted for him. So he set up this meeting with the Assistant Treasury Secretary, who is also a former Harvard economics professor and has two uncles who have won Nobel prizes in economics, to get his response and hopefully confirm what I was saying.
I opened with a question: “Larry, what’s wrong with the budget deficit?” He replied: “It takes away savings that could be used for investment.” I then objected: “No it doesn’t, all Treasury securities do is offset operating factors at the Fed. It has nothing to do with savings and investment.” To which he retorted: “Well, I really don’t understand reserve accounting, so I can’t discuss it at that level.”

Looks like he's heading for "that level."

[doom&gloom]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

Larry "everything I touch turns to shyt" Summers is up at bat again. Good job Obama! *groan*

WTF, I mean really, they can't find anyone who has an honest bone and common sense in their body. They have to turn to Summers again. the guy has a track record like a trian wreck. A pimp or a drug dealer understands more about economics than this POS.

[lektrode]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

dont you get it, D&G?.... its all part of 'the plan'
pretty soon The US will be just like all the rest of the countries where The Ruling Aristocracy calls all the shots, because... well... you know, it because They all know so much better than you and i on how things really ought to be done

[doom&gloom]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

Oh of cousre I get it. Doesn't mean I am happy about it in the least.

And the corporate Mediocracy will do it;s best to spin this as a good thing I am sure.

[jtabeb]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

If it is true that one's potential for career advancement is strictly limited by one's level of incompetence, then It is safe to say that "the sky is the limit" when it comes to Mr. Summers potential at the world bank. Sigh!

[bart]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

If anyone thinks that the IMF can't create money or spend/fund without borrowing, I remind you of section 13(3) in the Federal Reserve Act as amended, or recent "special lending moments" of the ECB.

[doom&gloom]

Re: Summers to head World Bank



ah yes, how we all long for 'the good ol' days...' when the world was being saved for us mere mortals by the members of the great deformation...

[metalman]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

ah yes, how we all long for 'the good ol' days...' when the world was being saved for us mere mortals by the members of the great deformation...

better...



larry 'never a debt too high' summers... the man for the plan...

ej asks summers.. too much debt? no ******* way!

http://www.itulip.com/audio/SummerJanszen110211.mp3.

[doom&gloom]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

ON this one I have to disagree. Were t not for the Rubin/Summers/Greedspan/Gramm deregulation, I don;t think we'd be it quite so deep a shytter as we are now.

Repeal of Glass-Steagall & the CFMA truly made a world of difference... for the worse.

[oddlots]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

It's funny that Summer's response to this involves an example of home equity withdrawal. It's as if citizenship is conceived as being a micro hedge fund. I swear that you could write a pretty complete treatment of postwar US history arguing that the dominant story is how the dollar's reserve status has completely undone the US with regards to it's democratic health. In the end I swear this advantage is a curse.

Compare Hudson's comparative analysis of a relatively unleveraged homeowner in the early 70s with someone of comparative position in the 90s or 2000s. His overhead for housing was vastly smaller as was his net worth. Hudson views this as a plus: the only thing that matters is what percentage of his income is devoted to housing needs and, conversely, what's left over to save / invest / spend. (With spend being particularly relevant at the moment.)

Of course in the 90s / 2000s net worth rises precipitously... but it's a mirage... and again, what matters is the percentage of income devoted to housing costs which, of course, is not a mirage but a very real debt that will not fade with the mirage of net worth... Edit:in fact the thing I find most outrageously corrupt about this is that housing is the most essential need. I don't know a lot about investing but I do know you don't gamble on the essentials. The fact that Greenspan famously and Summers as cited here couldn't make this judgement is pure depravity to me

I was really depressed to see Krugman make a similar appeal to net worth recently. It's really an abomination when it's brought up in politics. It's as if Krugman actually believes that all our children could be above average. It's not a serious economic viewpoint.

[lektrode]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

It's funny that Summer's response to this involves an example of home equity withdrawal. It's as if citizenship is conceived as being a micro hedge fund. I swear that you could write a pretty complete treatment of postwar US history arguing that the dominant story is how the dollar's reserve status has completely undone the US with regards to it's democratic health. In the end I swear this advantage is a curse.

interesting thot - you might be onto something here.

Compare Hudson's comparative analysis of a relatively unleveraged homeowner in the early 70s with someone of comparative position in the 90s or 2000s. His overhead for housing was vastly smaller as was his net worth. Hudson views this as a plus: the only thing that matters is what percentage of his income is devoted to housing needs and, conversely, what's left over to save / invest / spend. (With spend being particularly relevant at the moment.)

would have to say the earlier time period was a much higher living standard - if for no other reason than housing was cheaper in real terms, and since housing tends to be a large chunk of the working class' budget, therefore the tax burden was also lower (needed less income to afford a house = pay less in tax = better life for less money; and or the old saying: it matters not how much one makes, but rather how much one gets to keep?

Of course in the 90s / 2000s net worth rises precipitously... but it's a mirage... and again, what matters is the percentage of income devoted to housing costs which, of course, is not a mirage but a very real debt that will not fade with the mirage of net worth... Edit:in fact the thing I find most outrageously corrupt about this is that housing is the most essential need. I don't know a lot about investing but I do know you don't gamble on the essentials. The fact that Greenspan famously and Summers as cited here couldn't make this judgement is pure depravity to me

I was really depressed to see Krugman make a similar appeal to net worth recently. It's really an abomination when it's brought up in politics. It's as if Krugman actually believes that all our children could be above average. It's not a serious economic viewpoint.

and dont he just love to throw out this sort of BS to make his political points = precisely why i wouldnt piss on him if he was on fire!

[gwynedd1]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

better...



larry 'never a debt too high' summers... the man for the plan...

ej asks summers.. too much debt? no ******* way!

http://www.itulip.com/audio/SummerJanszen110211.mp3.

Finally something worth listening to. That kicked off the stooge music in my head.

[bart]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

[oddlots]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

This is a good follow-up:

http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/01/...he-world-bank/

Here's the text Summers wrote regarding exporting polution to less developed countries:

‘Dirty’ Industries: Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs [Less Developed Countries]? [...]
The costs of pollution are likely to be non-linear as the initial increments of pollution probably have very low cost. I’ve always though that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly UNDER-polluted, their air quality is probably vastly inefficiently low compared to Los Angeles or Mexico City. Only the lamentable facts that so much pollution is generated by non-tradable industries (transport, electrical generation) and that the unit transport costs of solid waste are so high prevent world welfare enhancing trade in air pollution and waste.

But it's this response and the resulting action that I loved:'

the former Secretary of the Environment for Brazil, Jose Lutzenburger, responded to Summers by calling the memo “perfectly logical but totally insane” and saying that Summers exhibited “the unbelievable alienation, reductionist thinking, social ruthlessness and the arrogant ignorance of many conventional ‘economists’ concerning the nature of the world we live in.” For his part, after writing this letter, Lutzenberger was fired.

So not only is Summers an unkillable Zombie but one that destroys the competent and sane it would appear.

Here's Felix Salmon's take:

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmo...he-world-bank/

[lektrode]

Re: Summers to head World Bank

oh mr bart!... you've done it again, sir!
heheheheheheh....