New York CNN Business —Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said on Tuesday that the growing chorus of economists and politicians urging the Federal Reserve to pause its aggressive rate hikes in order to fight inflation are misguided.
Those critics say that the Fed could throw the economy into recession, but Summers argued there’s a much greater risk to the economy that the Fed is not doing enough to bring down prices.
On oil windfall taxes: On Tuesday, Summers also pushed back after President Joe Biden floated the possibility of punishing the oil industry for high prices by imposing a windfall profit tax.
The profits are a windfall of war,” Biden said from the Roosevelt Room, alongside Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
“I think it would discourage investment in oil which ultimately mean higher oil prices.”