Booms and Busts

Bubbles, as we have seen, result from deliberate "expansionary" policies by government authorities, yet Krugman always seems to treat them as being solely the products of private enterprise.

The world already has the Great Depression as a warning. But governments and the bureaucrats who run them have decided to ignore the lesson. The new crisis of interventionism is fast approaching, and the market will not wait for governments to realize their errors.

The recent improvement of the global economy, with particularly high economic- growth numbers for the United States, is just one more deception in a long series of deceptions that have plagued policy makers and investors.

"The true villains were clearly the bankers themselves."

Recorded at Jekyll Island, Georgia; 27 February 2010.

Recorded at Jekyll Island, Georgia; 26 February 2010.

Recorded at Jekyll Island, Georgia; 26 February 2010.

"The more these readjustments are delayed," Rothbard explained, "the longer the depression will have to last, and the longer complete recovery is postponed."

"Naïve trust in the power of words to command reality is found in all mass delusions."

"Market prices can get screwed up when the Fed tinkers with interest rates. Because of the distorted price signals, the actual real resources are invested improperly."