this from the nYT:

Greenspan Concedes That the Fed Failed to Gauge the Bubble

little could be done to identify a bubble before it burst, much less to pop it.

Even a small child at a tea party can identify an inflating balloon. Granted, he may not know that it is about to pop, but after the age of six, she knows that it will.

What’s the difference between a weatherman and an economist? An economist can’t even tell you what happened yesterday.