Larry Summers, former Treasury Secretary under Presidents Clinton and Obama, didn’t hold back Sunday in condemning the new bill passed by the Republican-controlled Congress and pushed by President Donald Trump. He called it a “shameful act” that will cost American lives—“2,000 days of death” similar to the tragedy unfolding in Texas.
Speaking on ABC News’ “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos, Summers laid out the harsh consequences of the bill, which he called the “biggest cut in the American safety net in history.” He cited a report from the Yale Budget Lab estimating that the bill will lead to 100,000 deaths over the next decade.
“That is 2,000 days of death like we’ve seen in Texas this weekend,” Summers said bluntly. “In my 70 years, I’ve never been as embarrassed for my country on July 4th.”
Summers warned that cuts to subsidies for electricity and housing, higher interest rates, and less government support will hit middle-class families hardest. Hospitals will be forced to cover costs for more uninsured people, which will push prices and inflation higher.
“This will mean more inflation, more risk that the Fed has to raise interest rates, and the chance of a recession or stagflation,” Summers explained.
He questioned the priorities behind the bill, pointing out that it hands out roughly a million dollars over ten years to the wealthiest 0.1% of Americans. “Is that the highest priority use of federal money right now? I don’t think so.”
When Stephanopoulos mentioned a recent White House economic report predicting $11 trillion in deficit reduction due to growth and savings, Summers dismissed it as “nonsense.”
“There is no economist anywhere, without a strong political agenda, who is saying this bill is good for the economy,” he said. “The overwhelming view is that it will probably make the economy worse.”
Summers concluded with a stark warning: “This is a shameful act by our Congress and by our president that is going to set our country back.”
Watch the video below via ABC News.
