Macro Boom and Bust Cycles

There was a time when running your household like the U.S. government would result in foreclosure, awkward conversations with relatives, and perhaps a strongly worded letter from your bank. Today, somehow, an economy producing roughly $28 trillion of output supports more than $100 trillion in debt and liabilities while policymakers, economists, and television pundits congratulate themselves for achieving “resilience.” The math, as the kids say,…