Pessimism Grows

Marty Feldstein, President of the National Bureau of Economic Research, thinks that we could be in the worst recession since WWII.

Meanwhile, Ned Phelps, 2006 Nobel prize winner in economics, opines: "We may see in the near future higher interest rates and higher unemployment than have prevailed in the recent past."

In other words, stagflation is a very real risk for the first time in decades.

Greg Mankiw, former chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers (who originally posted both links), has been more optimistic than many other economists about the current state of the economy. But he offers no commentary on these more pessimistic views.

As for me... I don't think the sky is falling. But a realignment is occurring, and I think that it's pretty obvious that we have not yet seen the toughest times.