Volume 31, Number 5 · March 29, 1984
American Roulette
By Felix G. Rohatyn
On February 8, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Paul Volcker, testifying to the House Budget Committee, said that we were 'playing Russian roulette' with our economy. The stock market, which had been in an increasingly nervous state for the previous several weeks, quickly went into a steep decline, prompting Mr. Volcker, the next day, to calm things down by saying that the market had 'overreacted.' The chairman was right the first time, however, and so was the stock market; we are indeed playing Russian roulette with the economy. We are doing so by allowing our budget to go out of control, by allowing the international monetary system to go out of control, and by allowing the rapid industrial adjustment that is occurring now to take place without the slightest attempt to guide its direction or to dampen its shocks.
Feature, 5140 words
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