“At a most basic level, there can be only two rationalizations for the state's participation in an economy. The first is as a social equalizer, redistributing the fruits of a nation's production under the presumption that a particular social need takes precedence over private desires. The second justification for government intervention is the assertion that markets may fail to produce an efficient outcome."

-- Jerry L. Jordan, (now former) president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, speech to the Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference, 1997