There are no atheists in foxholes and there are no libertarians in financial crises.

Now, it’s true that some of the protesters are oddly dressed or have silly-sounding slogans, which is inevitable given the open character of the events. But so what? I, at least, am a lot more offended by the sight of exquisitely tailored plutocrats, who owe their continued wealth to government guarantees, whining that President Obama has said mean things about them than I am by the sight of ragtag young people denouncing consumerism.

Social Security is a social insurance program - it is not designed to be the same thing as a 401(k).

Surely I'm not the only person to ask the obvious question: How different, really, is Mr. Madoff's tale from the story of the investment industry as a whole?

Most work in macroeconomics in the past 30 years has been useless at best and harmful at worst.

Tax cuts were not going to be effective at creating jobs, and the job creation record is lousy.

So what are the effects of increasing minimum wages? Any Econ 101 student can tell you the answer: The higher wage reduces the quantity of labor demanded, and hence leads to unemployment.