WSJ: Summers is not a terrible choice

In the view of the Wall StreetJournal, President-elect Obama's choice of former Harvard President Larwrence Summers to head the National Economic Council at the White House was not terrible .  He understands that exorbitant taxes have a way of choking off growth, although he seems comfortable with near-exorbitant rates.  He also understands the root of our current economic mess.

This summer, as Fan and Fred melted down, he explained what went wrong:

"The illusion that the companies were doing virtuous work made it impossible to build a political case for serious regulation. When there were social failures the companies always blamed their need to perform for the shareholders. When there were business failures it was always the result of their social obligations. Government budget discipline was not appropriate because it was always emphasized that they were 'private companies.' But market discipline was nearly nonexistent given the general perception -- now validated -- that their debt was government backed. Little wonder with gains privatized and losses socialized that the enterprises have gambled their way into financial catastrophe."

It's heartening to see that Mr. Summers has managed to recover and prosper after the raging fems ran him out of Cambridge.  And it's encouraging to see that Obama seems to favor knowledge and experience over political correctitude in the measure of an economic adviser.