I didn't want to invest 44 minutes in a video, so I looked for a transcript somewhere. Instead, I found this talk by Ferguson
http://www.piie.com/publications/papers/niarchos-ferguson-2010.pdf
Which includes:
That strikes me as true. I remember the stagflation of the 1970's and a book by Lester Thurow which said we know how to solve our problems, we just don't have the political will. Then, along came Paul Volcker and RR who seem to have had the will, and the stagflation came to an end.
I'd like to believe that we'll find an elected person who's willing to say "tax more, spend less" but I haven't seen that person yet.
My personal financial plans include occaisional self-reminders that I can live pretty economically and still live as well as my parents.