Lawrence Summers

"[I]ts important to remember how fortunate we are as a country to have a currency and a bond market that is seen in every way as a source of strength and it’s a huge responsibility for us to keep it that way."

"Summers’s outlook on economic policy can be summarized by the remark that he gave me some years ago: "If I had your views on economics, I would find another profession." He meant that if free markets usually worked well and the government ought 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."

"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."

"The things you hear now about European unemployment -- that there are structural problems, that real wages have failed to adjust, that there are inflationary fears -- are the same things that were said during the early 1930. It is well established that government spending began to pull Germany out of its slump in 1935. There is no known reason why spending for peace cant do as well at getting the economy going as spending for war."

"Takeovers wouldnt cause the stock market to rise unless there is an upward reassessment of earnings (potential). People are more optimistic and confident about the future."

"I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest-wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that. . . . I’ve always thought that countries in Africa are vastly under polluted; their air quality is probably vastly inefficiently low compared to Los Angeles . . . Just between you and me, shouldnt the World Bank be encouraging more migration of the dirty industries to the Least Developed Countries?"