In the end it's still rational to consider all such debacles to be a competition between human beings to see who can come up with the most incredibly stupid response to a given situation. For JR....can I assume you're the title holder on that one? <s>
The "proof" of a theory depends on its usefulness in predicting the future. But, a response can only be judged "incredibly stupid" with the benefit of hindsight. For Al - there were economics in the mid-late 1920's (including Benjamin Anderson, regarded as one of the best economic historians around) who predicted the collapse:
http://www.amazon.com/ECONOMICS-PUBLIC-WELFARE-BENJAMIN-ANDERSON/dp/091396669XWhat's important is that Anderson was the first to cite that it was Hoover who essentially authored the failed "new Deal"
There are a few books that I will say one should read if one is going to speak intelligently on a subject. "Design Patterns" is one....the Kimball books on Data Warehousing is another......and this (the link above) is another. (Or at least be intimately familiar with the facts found in the book)
