Economic lessons from the Boss

For insights into the U.S. economy, put down your Milton Friedman and pick up some Bruce Springsteen. So says Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan, said James Grubel in Reuters.com. Swan, named finance minister of the year in 2011 by banking magazine Euromoney, says he has long been inspired by the Boss. “You can hear Springsteen singing about the shifting foundations of the U.S. economy, which the economists took much longer to detect,” Swan said in a lecture to Australia’s ruling Labor Party this week. Swan cited the Springsteen songs “The River,” which describes the collapse of the construction industry, and “My Hometown,” about a closing textile mill and its effect on a small town. And he sees a lesson in Springsteen’s music for Australia: “Don’t let what has happened to the American economy happen here.”