Stiglitz was Clinton's chief economic advisor, and appointed head of the world bank for a time. He's also the author of a very well-received text on economics, and I like the guy, but I find a dearth of opposing voices in this field. Everything is all Keynesian, and I'm far more swayed by the seldom-heard-from Austrian school, for which I hold up Ludwig Von Mises as a good example.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Von_Mises

Here's the skinny on Stiglitz:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stiglitz

Herring405

The Austrian View of Business Cycles Austrian economists also have a unique understanding of the phenomenon of business cycles and focus on the amplifying, "wave-like" effects of the credit cycle as the primary cause of most business cycles. Austrian economists assert that inherently damaging and ineffective central bank policies are the predominant cause of most business cycles, as they tend to set "artificial" interest rates too low for too long, resulting in excessive credit creation, speculative "bubbles" and "artificially" low savings.[17]

According to the Austrian business cycle theory, the business cycle unfolds in the following way. Low interest rates tend to stimulate borrowing from the banking system. This expansion of credit causes an expansion of the supply of money, through the money creation process in a fractional reserve banking system. This in turn leads to an unsustainable "monetary boom" during which the "artificially stimulated" borrowing seeks out diminishing investment opportunities. This boom results in widespread malinvestments, causing capital resources to be misallocated into areas which would not attract investment if the money supply remained stable.

Austrian economists argue that a correction or "credit crunch" – commonly called a "recession" or "bust" – occurs when credit creation cannot be sustained. They claim that the money supply suddenly and sharply contracts when markets finally "clear", causing resources to be reallocated back towards more efficient uses.