Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Summers opposes political interference with the Federal Reserve and expects a 50 basis point rate cut in September

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers warned against allowing the president to interfere in monetary policy making, which would only end up hurting the economy over time. "It's a fool's game to let politicians get involved," Summers said Friday. "The end result is higher inflation and a weaker economy." Summers' comments came a day after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he believed the president should have some "say" in Federal Reserve policymaking. The former president, who urged Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to ease policy while in office, said: "I think in many cases my instincts are better than those of Fed officials or their chairman." "I'm really shocked at how bad this idea is," Summers said of Trump's proposal. "The president has a lot on his plate at any one time and is actually not nearly as closely involved with the economy as the 19 Fed governors and presidents" who are focused on constantly reviewing every economic statistic. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Summers stressed that countries around the world have long granted central banks independence in recognition that politicians have "serious conflicts of interest" when it comes to monetary policy. He said officials "will always be tempted to print more money, lower interest rates - to hit the gas pedal to boost the economy." Summers, who served in senior economic positions in the Clinton and Obama administrations, said this pressure raises people's inflation expectations and pushes up long-term interest rates. "You get higher inflation but you don't get any substantial output growth." (Global Market Report)