NASSIM TALEB, FISCAL HAWK

Foreign Policy talks to Nassim Taleb:

We need smaller, more decentralized government. On paper, it might appear much more efficient to be large — to have economies of scale. But in reality, it’s much more efficient to be small. An elephant is vastly more efficient, metabolically, than a mouse. It’s the same for a megacity as opposed to a village. But an elephant can break a leg very easily, whereas you can toss a mouse out of a window and it’ll be fine. Size makes you fragile. . . .

The U.S. government should have no deficit. There’s way too much debt. It is inexcusable when you have the highest standards of living in the nation’s history! When you get rich, you should have less debt. There’s a vicious element to borrowing when you’re very rich, and having a deficit is an extremely dangerous game. [Emph. original.]

Smaller government? No deficit? Golly. I never would have taken him for a Tea Partier. . . P.S. Also, how Lebanon is kind of similar to Switzerland. Seriously. . .