One Might As Well Try

Indeed, In General, Healthy Investment Returns Cannot Be Sustained In A Weak Economy, And Of Course It Is Difficult To Save For Retirement Or Other Goals Without The Income From A Job.

The Basic Prescription For Preventing Deflation Is Therefore Straightforward, At Least In Principle: Use Monetary And Fiscal Policy As Needed To Support Aggregate Spending, In A Manner As Nearly Consistent As Possible With Full Utilization Of Economic Resources And Low And Stable Inflation. In Other Words, The Best Way To Get Out Of Trouble Is Not To Get Into It In The First Place.

The Impact On The Broader Economy And Financial Markets Of The Problems In The Subprime Markets Seems Likely To Be Contained.

Importantly, In The 1930s, In The Great Depression, The Federal Reserve, Despite Its Mandate, Was Quite Passive And, As A Result, Financial Crisis Became Very Severe, Lasted Essentially From 1929 To 1933.

Economics Is A Highly Sophisticated Field Of Thought That Is Superb At Explaining To Policymakers Precisely Why The Choices They Made In The Past Were Wrong. About The Future, Not So Much.