Economic heavyweight Larry Summers’ comments about the potentially harmful inflationary effects of Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package generated the type of pushback you’d expect from the new president’s appointees, and also drew criticism from some other experts. Given the need to get the next move right, Summers is posing a good question to his fellow Democrats.
Inflation is in the spotlight. Should we be worried?
Biden administration economist Jared Bernstein and New York Times columnist and Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman see no reason to worry. They defended the proposal and suggested that an even larger package is needed. Treasury Secretary Yellen also differed with Summers’ analysis and indicated that should inflation rear its ugly head, the Fed has adequate tools to handle the problem.
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