Tom: So, Paul Krugman has long wished he could live through a depression? In what field did he earn his doctorate, “sociopathic studies”? If the state’s efforts are not enough to create such an environment of suffering, perhaps he could take his Nobel Prize winnings and invest in a theme-park as depicted in the Yul Brynner film, “Westworld,” in which people could live their fantasies about earlier periods of time. Not only could he create a day-in-the-park version of the Great Depression, but throw in such experiential delights as the U.S. Civil War, Nazi Holocaust, and the French Revolution’s “reign of terror.” He could then satisfy – albeit vicariously – his strange curiosities without, in the process, inflicting the costs upon the rest of us.

The Best of Butler Shaffer