A long-term crisis, after a certain point, no longer seems like a crisis. It seems like the way things are.

Corporate welfare isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Of course, looking tough on inflation is part of any central banker's job description: if investors believe that inflation is going to get out of control, you end up with higher interest rates and capital flight, and a vicious circle quickly ensues.

Sometimes you have to destroy your business in order to save it.

Instead of mindlessly tossing billions at or taking billions from the Net as such, investors should be spending their time making sure that it's the future Fords and General Motors of cyberspace that are getting the capital they need.

Older people do a better job of managing their impulses, and so they're better able to put off putting off.

Publishers, naturally, loathe used books and have developed strategies to depress the secondhand market. They bring out new, even more expensive editions of popular textbooks every three to four years, in a classic cycle of planned obsolescence.