Markets tend to be pretty bad at dealing with huge and relatively sudden shocks without causing a ton of harm to incumbents (i.e. existing residents who live and work there).
The world is changing rapidly year by year. And if change is necessary to accommodate it, we’re better off realizing all the negative consequences sooner rather than later… especially if later means it has snowballed into something far larger and more painful (e.g. US mortgage subsidies).
Markets tend to just look bad, but I think they’re more realistic. While the government will pay someone for a job/pension to do something that was made obsolete in the 70’s, the free market appropriately makes him redundant. The former isn’t better. It’s a deadweight loss to society, even if it appears more humane.
