Larry Summers Provides His Views On How Not To Solve Big Problems In Europe

Larry Summers is very smart. He is even smarter when he comments on the problems that others face. In this article he does a good job of reviewing important economic problems that we have faced and he provides a scorecard. The bottom line is that one has to fit the the strength of the solution to the depth of the problem. The tendency to make the easier decision, by adapting a weak solution to a big problem, only makes things worse. He is particularly harsh on policy makers who propose austerity measures on countries with debt problems that will slow down economic growth. Slow growth reduces tax revenues and increases deficits.