Warren Hits Back At Summers Over ‘Hipster Antitrust’ Remarks

Senator Elizabeth Warren hit back at former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers over his comments on what he called “hipster antitrust” views of the Biden administration. Summers said that Biden’s administration was out of touch with issues facing American consumers.

The statements “are just echoes of Summers’ longstanding affection for the giant companies that prey on the rest of America,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in an interview Tuesday. “Larry Summers lives in a soundproof bubble.”

Related: Larry Summers Says White House Meddling In ‘Populist Antitrust’

Warren said market concentration has been one of the major reasons for spiking inflation, along with the war in Ukraine and ongoing supply chain issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Bloomberg Television’s “Wall Street Week” with David Westin, Summers said he was “worried” about the populist tilt of the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. 

Summers, a Harvard professor and paid contributor to Bloomberg Television, said there’s no question there needs to be stepped-up antitrust enforcement and there are areas with too much monopoly power that should be prosecuted.  But he called out regulators for their rhetoric.

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