Normally, I’d never write (or read) a post about someone’s dream—too personal and boring. But last night I dreamed I was an economic policy advisor in the land of Oz.
I dreamed that Oz was becoming populated by people from earth—mostly from Minnesota for some reason—as our planet was becoming increasingly uninhabitable. I was advising Glinda (she was Gwenda in my sleep-addled mind) on how Oz could generate more economic growth to help absorb the inflow.
But Glinda kept waving her wand around and telling me—with that ethereal smile she always wears—“we don’t want any more growth…we’re fine the way we are.”
Clearly, I need some time off.
I’m with Glinda! Of course, the way things are set up now, we NEED growth — growth to generate the revenues to service the debt. But then we need more debt, too — debt to stimulate the growth to generate the revenues to service the debt. And so on. And so on.
But that can’t go on for ever. And it doesn’t. Every episode of debt-fueled growth ends in an episode of debt-fueled crisis.
As Bob Dylan said, “I’ll let you be in my dreams, if I can be in yours.”
The people were from minnesota because all good things flow from there. Just thank your stars they weren’t from wisconsin.
…Michelle Bachmann…?
Jared
You’re welcome any time in the real land of Oz, ie Australia, aka the land Down Under. We’re doing reasonaly fine, indeed among the best economy in the developed world, but we could do with your economic expertise and humanity, not to mention your musical talent! Regards
Since L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz is seen by many historians as an allegory for the gold standard v. silver standard “money question” of the Gilded Age, this isn’t all that surprising.