Brock,

Crap-cutting welcome.

The players in these markets were assumed to be sophisticated. Events have proven this to be wrong in retrospect. But that is not a good argument for trading one set of stooges for another. Moe for Curly is not a trade up.

My confidence in the long term – which is still strong – is based upon my personal observation that our federalist system, while strained, has not yet slouched completely into a Euro-style nanny state. But the current state of affairs is troubling. And our leadership appears ignorant of the lessons of history, and – worse – appear to be ignorant of their ignorance. Cascading unknown unknows, if you will.

So, in the mean time, I am completely confident, based upon history, that we will see additional regulation. And I am just as confident, for the same reason, that it will make matters worse, not better in the short run. But at some point, our instinct for self-preservation will kick in. That’s when things will get interesting.

Hayek’s Fatal Conceit is still a belief of the conceited crowd in Washington. And still fatal. But the American people do not want to see this end. And that gives me hope.

L3