Getting a straight answer from an economist is like nailing
jello to a wall. “I'm tired of economists who say, ‘On the one
hand ... and then on the other hand.’ Send me a one-armed
economist,” said President Harry Truman about his Council of
Economic Advisors sixty years ago. It isn’t called “the dismal
science” for nothing. In an old western I saw as a boy, two
cowboys who didn’t trust each other negotiated a deal. One gave
a coin to the other who looked at it, bit on it, looked at it
again, then put it in his pocket, satisfied. It didn’t matter
whose picture was on the coin or what was stamped there. He was
satisfied that it was made of silver or gold. Ridges are stamped
on the edge of dimes and quarters because they used to be made
of silver. If there were no ridges, people would suspect someone
had been shaved off. The cowboy trusted the metal in his pocket
more than he trusted the other cowboy. The value of gold or
silver depends on how much is in circulation. If there were a
fixed amount and no more wer