Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tax and spending legislation on Sunday, warning it will deepen national debt and harm long-term economic productivity.
Summers said the bill, signed into law Friday, “piles more debt onto the economy than any piece of tax legislation in dollar terms that we have ever had,” News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
He added, “There is no economist anywhere, without a strong political agenda, who is saying this bill is a positive for the economy.”
The legislation extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and includes sweeping policy changes on immigration, defense, healthcare, and industrial incentives. While the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the bill would reduce deficits by $500 billion over a decade without the tax cuts, the final cost with them included reaches $3.3 trillion, roughly 9% of the U.S. national debt.
Trump’s administration argues that the bill will pay for itself through increased revenues from tariffs and higher economic growth. The White House Council of Economic Advisers claims the legislation could ultimately reduce the deficit by up to $11 trillion.
Summers dismissed the projection, calling it “respectfully nonsense.”
“What we can forecast is that when people have to hold government debt instead of being able to invest it in new capital goods, new machinery, new buildings, that makes the economy less productive,” he said. He also warned that cuts in research, education, and infrastructure will further erode long-term economic potential.
As debate intensifies, Trump’s allies in Congress have defended the legislation, while critics argue it could saddle future generations with unsustainable debt.
