Comments on: Don’t send Summers to the World Bank

By: kittylynn

kittylynn — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:53:33 +0000

Why not Joe Stiglitz?

By: emm305

emm305 — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:21:21 +0000

Larry Summers does not deserve this.

By: WallStRanter

WallStRanter — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:15:15 +0000

Are they serious? If that is the case you might as well consider their latest “Global Economic Prospects” report the last resemblance of reality to ever come from the organization (not that the IMF or World Bank are known for living in the real world). I was actually surprised that their most recent report actually had shades of reality in it! With Larry Summers in charge you can be sure not even “shades” of reality would be accepted!

http://www.wallstreetrant.com/2012 /01/world-bank-issues-world-rare- reality.html

By: chris9059

chris9059 — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:41:59 +0000

Having criticized your last post on greek debt default and CDS triggering it’s only fair I note that you are absolutely correct here. Larry Summers might well be the worst possible choice to head the World Bank.

One minor quibble. Summers didn’t get paid millions of dollars to speak his mind at D.E. Shaw. Nobody in the financial world gets paid that kind of money to speak their mind. They get paid to tell their bosses what they want to hear. Summers, like his old boss Bob Rubin, was no exception to this rule,

By: RightPaddock

RightPaddock — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:28:05 +0000

The last WB President I had any respect for was James Wolfenson, an Aussie-American

Larry Summers is the worst possible choice Obama could make, Clinton is the second worse choice Obama could make

Give the job to George Mitchell if he wants it, otherwise another Aussie – Peter Costello, a thoroughly decent man and a proven manager of other peoples money – trouble is he’s linked to the wrong party, he’s Burkeian Conservative.

By: Moopheus

Moopheus — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:21:18 +0000

This is true as far as it goes, but there is the assumption that an effective WB president who gets things done is actually a desirable thing. Usually when the institutions like the WB or the IMF actually do anything, it’s with the intent of looting third world nations to profit the oligarchy. (And how many times has Summers already had a hand in this?)

By: KarenHudes

KarenHudes — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:20:54 +0000

From now on the US’ nominee is no longer guaranteed to be appointed by the World Bank’s Board to the post of World Bank President. The 187 members of the World Bank and IMF revoked the 66 year old Gentlemen’s Agreement for the US to nominate the President of the World Bank in April, 2010. http://www.imf.org/external/np/cm/2010/0 42510.htm This is because Robert Zoellick has abused his authority and broken the securities laws. On September 15, 2007 I informed Senator Evan Bayh, “[t]he ongoing cover-up is an indictment of the probity of US oversight at the Bank and I would encourage the Senate to request GAO to look into it.” On April 17, 2008 Senators Lugar, Bayh and Leahy requested GAO to investigate “internal resistance to increased transparency and accountability at the World Bank.” http://citizenoversight.com/pdf/blwb.pdf On November 4, 2008 Congressman Chris Van Hollen informed me that he noted “that my claims and concerns have already been provided to the GAO…. and to the relevant congressional committees”. In March 2009 GAO stated that it could not commence the inquiry “because of challenges we recently faced in gaining access to World Bank officials.” (see p. 24) http://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/ doc/55285.pdf Senator Lugar asked about the delay in the GAO review during hearings on the IBRD capital increase http://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/b anking-on-reform-capital-increase-propos als-from-the-multilateral-development-ba nks On January 9, 2012 I asked the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions to bring the World Bank into compliance.

By: ErikD

ErikD — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:32:33 +0000

I’d agree with Felix’s sentiment here – assuming the runner-up candidate isn’t Jeff Sachs. I’ll take Fat Larry any day over Sachs, who is simply unbearable, as well as one of the 10 most overrated public intellectuals of our era.

By: junkwaffle

junkwaffle — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:26:55 +0000

Has someone started a petition to keep this from happening yet? I don’t know the whole skinny on summers, but he seems to be a self obsessed academic who doesn’t play well with others.

By: JimInPanama

JimInPanama — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:49:29 +0000

Can you imagine the Republican reaction to Obama naming someone other than an American? BALLISTIC!!!!!! They’ll call it the ultimate example of his disdain for “American Exceptionalism” ….. his “otherness”. Epic red meat

By: Strych09

Strych09 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:41:10 +0000

Larry Summers should never have been an integral part of the Obama Administration from the get go much less be considered for an appointment to the World Bank in any capacity.

By: GRRR

GRRR — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:29:06 +0000

His Harvard job surely exposed his weaknesses, didn’t it?

By: reuchner

reuchner — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:03:12 +0000

THIS IS OFF-TOPIC–

Liked Felix Salmon’s article on Suze Orman. Hoping for brief interview by Friday 1/20/12 regarding prepaid debit cards.

My bagpipe is from Glasgow. Does that count for anything?

re@blueshiftideas.com

By: sagreer70

sagreer70 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:55:13 +0000

A-MEN! No Larry Summers. He’s like a Gyro Sandwich – - keeps coming back long after the time you enjoyed him is over.

Whether it’s the pollution memo, the Harvard Harassment, etc., etc., let him go gently into the good night.

I like the idea of Hillary! or B Clinton, but I love Hillary! in her current job, and B makes too much dough (and other psychic income) just palling around like he does.

Dark Horse Candidate that should but never will get it: Eliot Spitzer! A Breath of Fresh air, and, he’s very familiar with that area of DC.

By: klhoughton

klhoughton — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:11:33 +0000

“his previous tenure at the World Bank is remembered mainly for the pollution memo”

I’ll bash Summers with the best of them, but blaming him for Lant Pritchett’s memo is beyond the pale. (If you want to be accurate, you could rephrase to “Summers’s last stint at the World Bank is not memorable for anything he accomplished or attempted.”)