I predict that in the years ahead Enron, not Sept. 11, will come to be seen as the greater turning point in U.S. society.

I think Stockman is an interesting sort of amalgam.

If the price of everything is going down, that's going to include wages as well. People will have an incentive to sit on their cash and not spend it.

Raising the minimum wage and lowering the barriers to union organization would carry a trade-off - higher unemployment. A better idea is to have the government subsidize low-wage employment. The earned-income tax credit for low-income workers - which has been the object of proposed cuts by both President Clinton and congressional Republicans - has been a positive step in this direction.

Something terrible has happened to the soul of the Republican Party. We've gone from bad economic doctrine. We've even gone beyond selfishness and special interests. At this point we're talking about a state of mind that takes positive glee in inflicting further suffering upon the already miserable.

The French, unfortunately, actually believe what they say, and that has been very destructive.

The federal government is basically an insurance company with an army.