Justice and the Law - Joy: Alleged Trump coup bandits still at large in Congress

Benjamin Wittes is editor-in-chief of Lawfare and a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution.The Brookings Institution is a Washington think tank that conducts independent research to improve governance at the local,national,and global levels.

Hints of a Recovery

Already,there are signs of economic healing,Mr.Summers pointed out.Key credit spreads are already substantially narrower than last fall.Credit costs are declining.It is our hope that the program will create virtuous circles.The housing cycle must be contained by direct intervention by GSEs to bring down mortgage rates,and through setting of standards directed at payment relief,preventing foreclosures.Lower mortgage rates function like tax cuts.Taken together,these steps address each of the vicious cycles.They will permit the normal processes of economic growth to re-engage over time,the former Treasury Secretary and president of Harvard University predicted at The Brookings Institution.

Larry Summers:Circles and Cycles

Larry Summers,Chairman of the White House Economic Council,spoke last week at The Brookings Institution,a Washington think tank.Most recessions are a reaction to inflation-fighting policy,Mr.Summers observed.Others,such as the current one,are reactions to excess.Fifty trillion dollars of wealth have been lost in the past 18 months,leading to declining demand,Gross Domestic Product and employment.Fourteen million jobs have been lost.Our goal is to bring about an expansion that is fundamentally sound,not driven by excess.Without it,we cannot achieve any national goal.Sometimes the right economic metaphor becomes,not a thermostat,but an avalanche,as today.A weakened financial system creates a vicious cycle.These are not processes that are self-correcting,the President's advisor explained.