It’s a weekend in Pittsburgh and lots of people here and elsewhere around the country are waiting for a money-losing service called government transit.

In his various writings, the leader of the monetarist school of thought, Milton Friedman, argued that there is a variable time lag between changes in money supply and its effect on real output and prices. Thus, according to Friedman, 

In the short run, which may be as much as five or ten years, monetary changes affect primarily output. Over decades, on the other hand, the rate of monetary growth affects primarily prices.

Ayn Rand was once asked if she could explain her philosophy while standing on one foot. She did. Could you? Could you explain in everyday language the central idea of free market economics in one breath, between floors in an elevator, or with one foot letting the other do all the work?