‘Deranged Sociopaths’ and Higher Unemployment Can Fix US Economy
The former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, Larry Summers, said that jobless rates must rise to curb inflation and fix the economy, provoking a robust pushback from the crypto community.
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The author Saifedean Ammous, who wrote The Bitcoin Standard, was chief among those who reacted angrily to Summers’ comments, labeling the former Treasury Secretary and the rest of his Keynesian ilk as “deranged sociopaths.”
Economy faces high inflation
The bust-up comes as U.S. consumers face significant financial pressures, with inflation currently at its highest in over 40 years. Despite this, unemployment currently sits at 3.6%. According to Summers, unemployment figures would need to rise above 5% for five years to solve inflationary woes.
Summers says to achieve higher unemployment the Federal Reserve (Fed) would need to pursue a strict course of harder and faster monetary tightening, raising interest rates significantly. Summers, who served as secretary from 1999 to 2001, likened the task to that faced by former chair Paul Volcker.
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