Lawrence Summers at Informal ISPS Talk: Election Isn’t a Mandate

Larry Summers ISPSLawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and former president of Harvard University (2001-2006) who worked in two Democratic administrations, warned that the election should not be read as a mandate for large scale progressive policies, redistribution, and the welfare state, given that it was a close election for an incumbent President. Speaking about Elizabeth Warren’s win, he said, “You can read it two ways. That she won a victory by 5 – 6 points and it’s a powerful populist message, or that in the heavily populated People’s Republic of Massachusetts she only won by 5-6 points.”

Summers spoke at an informal reception at ISPS on November 14, 2012 and focused mainly on the recent election and what it meant for the economy. He expressed his belief that building business confidence was important, but so was government’s role in the economy. He stated that he “doesn’t believe driving a stake through big finance will produce a more just society.”

During a Q &A, he responded to many questions about the stimulus package of 2008 that he had a hand in crafting. He said he believes government can do the job, but then mused on how the TSA and airline security has undermined some of his confidence in the experience of being regulated. Professor Summer later gave a larger, more public talk, hosted by ISPS’s Center for the Study of American Policy, titled, Economic Possibilities for Our Children: The Major Economic Challenges Facing the Next Generation.