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"the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable" - Summers
Thanks to EdA for the link to this. It shows that Lawrence Summers is basically the Dick Cheney of Economics. Human lives in developing nations are clearly worth less in economic terms than those in developed nations, so we should export our waste accordingly.
As the then-Secretary of the Environment of Brazil, Jose Lutzenberger wrote to him: "Your reasoning is perfectly logical but totally insane..."
The article begins: "On December 12, 1991, the chief economist for the World Bank, Lawrence Summers, wrote an internal memo that was leaked to the environmental community... "
Check the link to see the rest of what Lawrence had to say:
http://www.whirledbank.org/ourwords/summers.html
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Thanks for posting this. Summers has a real talent for being offensive. Maybe that's just because he has a lot of offensive ideas.
November 7, 2008 7:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Look we can all agree Larry Summers has said and thought some rather impolitic things (being kind here). Your memo above and his comments at Harvard. However, these do not negate the fact that he is probably one of the smartest economic minds out there. I personally don't like the guy, but then again I'm not looking for a friend. I'm looking for somebody who has a real brain that can help get us through this mess. If he ends up being Obama's choice I may wince, but from a economic policy stand point he made a good choice.
November 7, 2008 8:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's a good point. As long as this guy has someone above him (e.g., Obama) who will point out when his logic is trumped by ethics/compassion, he can serve a valuable purpose. The Lutzenberger quote is quite salient. A problem with Cheney is there wasn't anyone reining him in.
November 7, 2008 8:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lutzenberger lost his job shortly thereafter.
November 7, 2008 11:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, just because someone thinks this guy is "smart" (a premise that I question, by the way) does not get him a pass. His attitudes negate any of that and make him unsuitable for any high position.
Think of him as the democrat's version of a John Yoo.
November 7, 2008 1:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
I highly respect Summers but I don't believe he is the proper fit for the job. For whatever that's worth...... I don't believe he will be the pick.
November 7, 2008 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
this post went away within 4 hours. reposting text of memo in its entirety with different header tomorrow afternoon. people need to know if they're getting someone who thinks parts of africa are "vastly UNDER-polluted" (his emphasis) and that we should all ship our toxic waste there if we could only make it feasible. definitely NOT change we can believe in.
November 7, 2008 10:45 PM | Reply | Permalink