Larry Summers then and now

Larry Summers now:

“I don’t think the worst is over ... It’s very likely that more jobs will be lost. It would not be surprising if GDP has not yet reached its low. What does appear to be true is that the sense of panic in the markets and freefall in the economy has subsided and one does not have the sense of a situation as out of control as a few months ago.”

In January when he was pushing for the stimulus package, he said that the plan would start working "within weeks."

As to the concern of panic, Obama encouraged the panic and the panic stopped when Obama stopped exaggerating what was happening with the economy.