There may be some hope for the economy after all, but only if Romney wins the election and takes George Will’s advice to break up the big banks. The top ten banks now account for 61% of the commercial banking assets in the U.S., up from 26% twenty years ago, and half the assets in the banking industry are concentrated in the hands of only five banks. Reversing the trend toward increasing public and private centralization of the economy will not be easy. Breaking up the biggest banks would be a great start – a genuine move forward quite unlike the reactionary (and illusory) “Forward” of Obama’s liberalism.

Romney just stopped short of calling for the breakup of the big banks in the first debate, so he doesn’t have to move far to get to an explicit endorsement. As Will points out, voters would be grateful for the infusion of a “fresh thought” into the campaign, so hopefully Romney will make that endorsement before it’s too late. And if Romney wins and breaks up the banks, perhaps his administration could then turn to enforcing the antitrust laws in the healthcare industry. Add tax reform and medicare reform to the list of achievements of a Romney administration, and the economy would indeed take off.