The fat years of the housing bubble lasted from 1999 to 2006 - seven years. The bubble was deflating by the beginning of 2007 and collapsed into the panics of 2007-09. Since then we have been struggling in its deflated wake. If we get the Biblical sum of seven lean years, the housing and related debt markets will bottom in 2013 - not a bad forecast. 

On Thursday, the Pentagon will begin detailing its plans to cut $500 billion from the military's budget over the next decade. The reason, insists President Barack Obama, is that "since 9/11, our defense budget grew at an extraordinary pace." That's true in top-line numbers—but it's anything but true when examined strategically.

By next year, about two-thirds of American physicians will be working as salaried employees of large groups and hospitals. This movement has been underway for years. Over the last decade, the number of independent physicians was falling by about 2% a year. But these trends are now accelerating. 

Instead of fresh thinking or "tough choices," the president seeks to use dollars as a convenient salve.

The United States could lead a loose coalition freed from international bureaucracies and stultifying rules, which would take responsibility for maintaining international peace and spreading market democracy. The test for war would not be whether it upsets the status quo, but whether it improves global human welfare.

Business and civic leaders have long been key players in the push to improve America's schools. Business leaders should be partners, not pawns. Working with school districts or policymakers doesn't mean carrying their water; it means settling on shared objectives and pursuing them jointly.

If Obama is serious about wanting to increase domestic oil production, he'll move to open up new areas for exploration, and ask Congress to amend statutes that enable third party lawsuits to tie up drilling permits for years.

A systemic risk adviser is distinctly worth a try, and, if it is properly structured, we should try it.