Look, it's Ron Paul! But what is he doing in New York, the fancy magazine for elites, alongside establishment finance types like a former Morgan Stanley economist and a famous investor? Isn't he sort of "kooky?" Everyone (who didn't live in a basement or wasn't a furry) laughed at Paul's quest for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, especially since Paul wanted to get rid of the Federal Reserve and take America back to the gold standard, in which money is backed by something other than the worthless promises of filthy bankers and shiftless bureaucrats. But now it looks like the Fed's board of governors may be leading us into depression, and even that capitalist bible the Wall Street Journal ran an article this weekend speculating that the thinking behind the gold standard, if not the standard itself, "will have its day again." So Paul's stock is rising! Let's hear what terrible things he has to say about our future:

"I think we are maybe 10 percent into this crisis. The economic distortions have been building for longer than we've seen in the history of the world. Never have we had such confidence falsely placed in a reserve currency."

Ha ha, you know what's funny about that Ron Paul quote? It's probably the least disturbing one in the entire New York charticle. The people from inside the financial system sound far more depressing. Here's the former Morgan Stanley chief economist:

"The American consumer is toast. We're talking a multiyear adjustment, at least two or three years, maybe more. Does that mean America is over? Does that mean we have a whole new world order? The jury's out on that

If you really want to ruin your Monday, go ahead and click through and read the other two quotes. The short version is that you'll soon be starving in the street, but in the meantime don't stop reading, because there's this new tapas place New York would like to tell you about!

[New York]