BRILLIANT!!!! I have to admit that you got catch-up in my sloppy attempt to have a rest from Doom&Gloom. But this piece is so spot on. I spent a career trying to figure out why economists got the head so far up their excretory canal. And, I would suggest that the loss of "a point", was no accident for these apologists. Not to mention that crises pay so well. Here is something you might enjoy: http://www.paecon.net/PAEReview/issue102/Daneke102.pdf