When history repeats itself
Paul Krugman taught me a new word today. Interregnum (literally “between kings”), a period when normal government is suspended, especially between successive reigns or regimes:
The interregnum of 1932-1933, the long stretch between the election and the actual transfer of power, was disastrous for the U.S. economy, at least in part because the outgoing administration had no credibility, the incoming administration had no authority and the ideological chasm between the two sides was too great to allow concerted action…
How much can go wrong in the two months before Mr. Obama takes the oath of office? The answer, unfortunately, is: a lot. Consider how much darker the economic picture has grown since the failure of Lehman Brothers, which took place just over two months ago. And the pace of deterioration seems to be accelerating.
The only other major interregnum I really remember was in 2000 when we were in the throes of a different kind of crisis, a constitutional one. Here’s hoping that the next major transfer of power will be under more stable circumstances.
On a more positive note, the day ended with some good news.
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