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“When I see a coalition of Josh Hawley, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump come up with an idea, I think it’s time to take cover.”
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That’s Larry Summers, the former Treasury Secretary who reportedly advised President-elect Joe Biden, explaining to Bloomberg News why he believes $ 2,000 stimulus checks would be a “pretty serious mistake” that could overheat the US economy. “When you see that the two extremes are in agreement, you can almost be sure there is something crazy in the air,” Summers added.
UPDATING: President Donald Trump signed the stimulus bill on Sunday evening after a four-day delay. In a statement, Trump said Congress would vote to increase individual payments from the current $ 600 to $ 2,000, although many questions remained to be answered.
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House Democrats last week tried to increase the size of aid payments from $ 600 to $ 2,000, but were blocked by Republicans, who have joined Trump on the package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would hold another vote on Monday.
Summers told Bloomberg it would be better to have incentives than not, but promoting consumer spending with cash isn’t the answer. He said he “isn’t even sure I’m that excited about the $ 600 checks.” Watch the full interview: