I believe that very few people are significantly aware of the depth of government intervention in the economy. And even fewer understand the negative implications of such involvement. Every aspect of our financial lives is affected by the decisions of our policy makers. From savings programs to career choices, from household expenditures to vacation options, from leisure activities to education, we are systematically taxed, regulated, and otherwise guided into choices that are not always beneficial to our well-being.
The Great Recession of 2008–as it has come to be labeled–is a lesson still unfolding. The story of events that led to the global financial crisis is a story of the failure of planned economies. Essentially, planned economies (including the planning inherent in a mixed economy) interfere with the very market signals that prevent such financial catastrophes from happening. Once those signals fail, the market participants have no way of making sound financial decisions.
I was alerted to an article called, “The House that Uncle Sam Built: The Untold Story of the Great Recession of 2008.” It was written by Steven Horwitz and Peter Boettke who do an excellent job of explaining what happened. The article can be found on the website of FEE (Foundation for Economic Education) at http://fee.org/doc/the-house-that-uncle-sam-built/ and is reproduced in PDF format here: 
HouseUncleSamBuiltBooklet
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