Global crisis just a blip, says 'Freakonomics' author

“It is only our reaction to terrorism that is so extreme that it makes the problem look bigger than it actually is,” said Levitt,

an over-reaction continually being fuelled by the media and a weapons and securities industry making billions out of such manufactured fears...

I like this guys thinking. Make him vice president under Ralph Nader.

Great article. I must get around to reading his books.

yes all those people who lost their jobs and/or had to foreclose their homes, will also "just" see it as a blip

“It is only our reaction to terrorism that is so extreme that it makes the problem look bigger than it actually is,” said Levitt,

I wish the article was more about this. Its a much more important subject and he is completely correct.

Says whatever sells books.

Anyone else except for Steven Levitt noticed that the flour prices have increased by 22% as of December 1st? I can't call that a blip anymore.

Guy hasn't suffered one bit in the last 3 or 4 years obviously, he hasnt lost his job, had the bank foreclose on his home, had his car reposessed, been through a divorce because of the financial problems that pressed down on his little world, or any of those very unsavoury things that happened to millions of people.

Yeah right it was all just alittle blip,

This guy has no clue at all. He infact is spouting hot gas out his mouth.

EE.

I ignore him like many of the other "experts" out there. Why should I take advise on how to improve my marriage from some 40+yr old spinster or let people tell me how to raise my kids who never had any of their own.

Those guys/gals are all certified "experts" but at the same time are not in touch with reality. Talking Heads really.

He's correct if you look at the current global financial mess in a historical perspective - WWII may seem like a "blip" another hundred years from now. However, the rest of us live in the here and now with a relatively small window in which to "make it" or not. Japan's already into lost decade two and the U.S. is, if you honestly admit that our downturn as a nation began with the Iraq invasion, are just concluding our own lost decade. If the Eurozone falls apart, that will probably result in an additional 5-7 years of poor economic performance world wide.

This guy and his co-author are both frauds and you'd expect someone employed by and steeped in the Chicago school of economics, whose philosophy helped put us into the current crisis, to pooh-pooh the world's current financial problems. He is, after all, if not part of the 1% is certainly part of the top 5% economically.

I believe the guy. Go look at his blog.

Try telling the people who have lost their homes and are on food stamps that it's just a blip.

He appears to be good at promoting himself. period.

I enjoyed the Freakonomics book and have listened to quite a few of the podcasts he and his colleagues make. One of my favorites was the research that showed how "experts" outside of the very narrow fields in which they are really expert do not have any better insight than an averagely informed person. Unfortunately, this means that Levitt, whose research area is not macroeconomics, has no more idea about the prospects for the global economy than you or I.