Larry Summers On Market Chaos

46:07

August 08, 2011

Former Treasury Secretary and White House economics advisor Larry Summers on chaos in the markets and a global economy on the rocks.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, Aug. 5, 2011 in New York. A government report that hiring improved in July sent stocks sharply higher just after the market opened. The rally lasted less than a half-hour. Many economists still fear that the economy might dip back into recession. (AP)

It’s just one rating agency, with issues of its own. The White House rejects the math.

But there it is: the USA, not top tier.

This is not news to the 14 million Americans looking for a job. But it is a big sober-up moment for all Americans about this country’s direction, its politics, and its economy.

Lawrence Summers was treasury secretary to Bill Clinton. Top economic adviser to Barack Obama. Headstrong. Outspoken. He’s with us.

This hour On Point: What now? What next?

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Larry Summers, served as the Director of the National Economic Council for the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2011. He was the Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 during the Clinton Administration.

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Reuters: "At last Washington has reached a deal that raises the debt limit and averts a default that would have been a national embarrassment and an economic and geopolitical catastrophe. The forces shaping the deal and the deal itself are multifaceted–and so is the right reaction to it. Mine has a number of elements."

This program aired on August 8, 2011.