Summers Promises Jobs by Spring

Two of President Obama’s major economic advisers made the rounds of Sunday talk shows to discuss unemployment, but they didn’t exactly present a united front. Larry Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, predicted job growth by spring, and responded to concerns over the budget deficit, saying, "For next year or two, priority No. 1—certainly this year—priority No. 1 has be to job creation." Christina Romer, who chairs the White House Council of Economic Advisers, was more skeptical about growth and said that unemployment rates “certainly do bounce around. I would anticipate some bumps in the road as we go ahead.” Summers also discussed the state of post-bailout banks, saying that they have “obligations to the country” and that the president was “going to have a serious talk” with bankers.