Larry Summers wins support as he calls Donald Trump's tax ideas 'mother of all stagflations'

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has issued a stark warning about former President Donald Trump's recent economic policy ideas, labeling them as potentially catastrophic for both the US and global economies, as per Bloomberg.

During an interview on the Bloomberg Television program 'Wall Street Week' hosted by David Westin, Summers described Trump's proposal to replace a significant portion of income-tax revenue with tariffs as a recipe for the "mother of all stagflations."

Larry Summers issues stark warning about Donald Trump's economic policy ideas

"This is a prescription for the mother of all stagflations," Summers remarked, stressing that such a move would ignite "worldwide economic warfare."

His comments followed Trump’s meeting with House Republicans where the former president proposed funding income tax cuts through substantial tariff hikes, including a minimum 10% universal import levy and a punitive tariff rate for China.

Summers, a Harvard University professor and Bloomberg TV contributor argued that this shift to tariff-based revenue would not only increase the cost of imports but also drive up prices of domestic goods and services competing with these imports.

Such inflationary pressures would reduce consumer spending, triggering a "downward spiral" in the economy, he cautioned. Reflecting on his extensive career, Summers stated, "I don’t think there’s been a more inflationary presidential economic policy platform in my lifetime."

He compared Trump’s proposals to those of George McGovern, the Democratic nominee who faced a resounding defeat in the 1972 presidential election.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, responded to Summers’s criticism by highlighting Trump's first-term economic achievements. "President Trump’s first-term pro-growth economic policies created record-low mortgage, interest, and unemployment rates and made inflation virtually non-existent," she stated.

"Americans can expect President Trump’s second-term economic agenda will have the same impact and end Joe Biden’s inflation crisis that continues to rob working families of thousands of dollars every month," Leavitt added.

Summers called upon Republican-leaning business leaders and economists to scrutinize the consequences of Trump’s economic policies, pointing out his willingness to critique Democratic policies when warranted. He recalled his criticism of Biden’s COVID stimulus package in March 2021, which he deemed excessive and inflationary.

Larry Summers' remarks about Donald Trump's tax ideas spark agreement online

The internet swiftly responded to Summers' remarks about Trump's tax ideas, with many users on social media platforms expressing their agreement. One user on X commented, "Destroying the economy to own the libs."

Another user drew a parallel with Hungary's recent economic troubles under Viktor Orban, commenting, "Hungary had an average inflation rate of 17.6% in 2023, thanks to Viktor Orban.. he’s Trump’s role model!"

"Great leadership by the @GOP ….there is 40 years of data to provide proof that trickle-down economics & Trump's economic plan will destroy all the momentum the current economy has," one user wrote. Another added, "Trump and Republicans are promising to crash the economy so they & their donors can have another tax cut for the rich."

A fifth user remarked, "Stagflation would be the least of it. Inflation would skyrocket."

Another warned, "Authoritarian regimes (if you're lucky) always end in economic collapse...America won't be an exception."

A seventh user stated, "You don’t have to graduate cum laude with a degree in economics (like AOC) to understand that conservative economic policies are a complete disaster."

Lastly, a user expressed, "Absolutely! Do the math!"

 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.