Do we have the capability to eliminate booms and busts in economic activity? The answer in my judgment is no, because there is no tool to change human nature. Too often people are prone to recurring bouts of optimism and pessimism.
April 19, 2011
“No! I can’t talk to you now. Call me another time,” bellowed the man on the other end of my phone. Despite the abruptness, the voice had sounded cultured … even upper class. But then why wouldn’t it? As a young broker, I had cold-called the Chief of Psychiatric Services of Harvard University. It was 1966 and my firm,...