Hu versus Sarkozy | Steve H. Hanke | Cato Institute: Commentary

Hu versus Sarkozy | Steve H. Hanke | Cato Institute: Commentary: "According to most accounts, the stock market crash of October 1929 was the spark that sent the economy spiraling downward.

How could this be? After all, by November 1929, the stock market had started to recover, and by mid-April 1930, it had reached its pre-crash level. Contrary to the received wisdom, massive government failure — not the stock market crash — pushed the United States into the Great Depression."

"GDP growth and levels of GDP per capita are closely, and positively, associated with metrics that measure the vitality of free markets and the ease of doing business (see the accompanying table). And that's not all. Economic growth is, quite literally, a matter of life and death. As the accompanying chart indicates, prosperity (measured by standard metrics) affects life expectancy (health) in a positive way."