Replying to Aaron Miller’s question, Friedman favored rules over discretion in part because rules bring greater predictability and less uncertainty which is good for investment and job-creation. But he also found that attempts by the Fed to “fine tune” usually made things worse, causing booms and busts.

Duane Oyen wonders whether monetary policy was too tight in 2008. I would say that monetary policy was too erratic in this period, especially starting in August 2007 when the crisis flared up, and that this helped bring on the panic in the fall of 2008. The Fed introduced new many lending facilities and opened its balance sheet to bail out the creditors of Bear Stearns, but then closed it to Lehman, then opened it again to AIG and then closed it again without any clear strategy.

I agree with the Ottoman Umpire and Rob Long that uncertainty about what government will do next, whether about tax increases, implementing the complex financial reform and health care bills, or passing yet another wasteful "stimulus" bill is holding business back from making job-creating investments. The uncertainty is causing very slow economic growth with persistently high unemployment. The best way to get the economy moving again is for the government to lay out a clear and credible plan to reduce the deficit without raising taxes by simply slowing the explosive growth of spending.

Dave Carter, I think we should make the Bush tax cuts pemanent, which means take tax increases off the table, completely. Zandi did not say it in the interview, but my guess is he would like to increase taxes later. So that's a point of disagreement. Also I showed on Economics One a few weeks ago, that the deficit problem is virtually all a spending problem. John