Seemingly Crazy Ideas for Clearly Crazy Times (www.CrazEc These are crazy times.
Ever since the Great Recession hit the world in 2008, nothing seems to be normal. The so-called "advanced economies" are in a serious need of emerging from their stupor. And "emerging economies" are increasingly viewed as being powerful enough to save the world. In tough times like these, when the need to collect ourselves and come together as humankind is the greatest, unprecedented level of divi
siveness and propensity to kick the proverbial can down the road seem to be universally rampant. This is particularly jarring in the United States of America which is known for its inventiveness, generosity, courage, work-ethic and resilience. Instead, now ideas have given way to ideologies. Public service has been superseded by self-interest among politicians of every stripe, and at all levels of government. And instead of brilliant minds with diverse viewpoints coming together to illuminate a path forward, they end up generating mostly heat through their arguments. Is it any surprise then that for the first time in the country's history, youth in America face a non-trivial probability of not being better off than their parents? The goal of this project is to cut through the nonsensical noise & smoke-and-mirrors stuff coming out of all politicians, most academics, and many business leaders, and find solutions to some of the more thorny problems of today. In a not-so-subtle nod to Applesque and Jobsian definitions, "crazy" is being used here in its most positive and enlightened form and the project is being called "CrazEconomics".
