“Our goal should be to make decision makers internalize the full consequences of their decisions, rather than prevent them from making decisions altogether [...] But we tend to reform under the delusion that the regulated institutions and the markets they operate in are static and passive, and that the regulatory environment will not vary with the cycle. Ironically, faith in draconian regulation is strongest at the bottom of the cycle, when there is little need for participants to be regulated. By contrast, the misconception that markets will govern themselves is most widespread at the top of the cycle, at the point of maximum danger to the system. We need to acknowledge these differences and enact cycle-proof regulation, for a regulation set against the cycle will not stand. To have a better chance of creating stability throughout the cycle--of being cycle-proof--new regulations should be comprehensive, nondiscretionary, contingent, and cost-effective.”

“The question is not whether we should or should not regulate; itis how much should we regulate and who the regulators shouldbe. We went overboard on deregulation under Reagan. UnderBush, many people lost in the casino. Now we have the Obamaadministration overreacting and overreaching with regulation thatdoes the exact opposite of wealth creation. If we are to have changewe can believe in, then we could start by replacing the majorityof the lawyers in regulatory agencies with actual experienced, successfulbusiness veterans. They would have recognized the early warningsigns of many of the financial debacles created by the bubble-bustcycle.”

“Perhaps this is the most important thing for me to take back from beach-living: simply the memory that each cycle of the tide is valid; each cycle of the wave is valid; each cycle of a relationship is valid.”

“The real cycle you're working on is a cycle called yourself.”

“In the Gaia theory air, water, and soil are major components of one central organism, planet Earth. What we typically think of as life - the plants and animals that inhabit the earth - has evolved merely to regulate the chemistry of the biosphere. Humans are insignificant participants, far less important to the life cycle than termites. Even the imbalance that we have created by adding massive quantities of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere may be brought back to acceptable levels by other organisms functioning in their capacity to correct excesses.”

“The cycle of violence needs extreme love to break it.”