Regardless of his record, former Obama administration economic adviser Larry Summers can offer an occasional witty remark, as evidenced in the latest Newsweek:

You just gave your first lecture of the semester, titled ?The Recent Financial Crisis.? What do you want kids in the back row to remember?

The three most dangerous words on a ski slope are ?Follow me, Dad.? The four most dangerous words in finance are ?It?s different this time.?

Of course, ?It?s different this time? is the title of a popular recent book from Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff. As the book?s publicists tell us:

Using clear, sharp analysis and comprehensive data, Reinhart and Rogoff document that financial fallouts occur in clusters and strike with surprisingly consistent frequency, duration, and ferocity. They examine the patterns of currency crashes, high and hyperinflation, and government defaults on international and domestic debts–as well as the cycles in housing and equity prices, capital flows, unemployment, and government revenues around these crises. While countries do weather their financial storms, Reinhart and Rogoff prove that short memories make it all too easy for crises to recur.