When I was operating as one of President Reagan's economic advisers, an early assignment was to analyze the federal government's landholdings and make recommendations about what to do with them. This was a big job. These lands are vast, covering an area six times that of France.

Why is it so hard for the IMF and the U.S. government to understand that putting out the fire comes before fireproofing the building?

It turns out that the rich are much better placed to feed at the public trough. The poor get crumbs.

During the last two centuries, there have been many deflations throughout the world. Almost all of them have been good ones precipitated by technological innovation, rising productivity, global capital flows, and sustained economic growth. If farm mechanization cuts the price of wheat, you get a rising living standard. This is good.