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.
February 07, 2014
It was the end of a day as I sat in a local restaurant kvetching to a friend. Kvetching is Yiddish for complaining. I really love Yiddish because it often captures not only a word but the sound of feeling in the word. It’s spoken emotion. “It’s been a five-year secular bull market,” I kvetched. “So what’s the problem?” he asked. “...