Every economist knows Stein’s Law: “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”
That was Herbert Stein, Nixon economic adviser, professor, and longtime sage of the American Enterprise Institute. His axiom sounds tautological, but with Yogi Berra-like wisdom it points out a major flaw in the way humans think about causes and effects.
Chris Stirewalt is a contributing writer for The Dispatch, the politics editor for The Hill and NewsNation, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, co-host of the Ink Stained Wretches podcast, and author of Broken News, a book on media and politics.
