Free Republic

Recently, Paul Krugman and Brian Wesbury have both regaled us with their views of the world. Krugman urges policymakers to double down on an obviously failed Keynesian reaction to the fiscal/financial/economic crisis by throwing the "kitchen sink" at the problem. In stark contrast, Wesbury adopts a "what, me worry?" stance, arguing that the current situation bears no resemblance to 1932 and is actually pretty darn good. To Krugman, I'd admonish , "hey man, the game's over. You lost. Give it up." Keynesian fiscal policy, such as recent government spending has been labeled, has failed as miserably this time as it...

SINCE 9/11, A PALL of pessimism covered the U.S. Polls show that between 60 and 85 percent of Americans have believed that the U.S. is in a recession or would go into one the following year. But from September 2001 through August 2008, those polls were wrong. Nonetheless, the failure of Lehman Brothers, with its ripple effect on money market accounts and confidence in the U.S. banking system, finally made this prognostication a reality. Rather than a prolonged recession, however, or one that is worsening, we’re seeing a temporary “V”-shaped recession caused by a sharp, fear-driven slowdown in the turnover...