Gazing at Washington’s twin deficits, Peter Bernstein did not try to conceal his alarm: “Of one thing we are certain: current trends are not sustainable,” he told his clients. “The imbalances are now enormous, far more glaring than at any point in the past…. A hitch here or a tuck there has little chance of success. When it hits, and whichever sector takes the first blows, the restoration of balance will be a compelling force roaring through the entire economy—globally in all likelihood. The breeze will not be gentle. Hurricane may be the more appropriate metaphor.”27
