In his poem, "The Second Coming," William Butler Yeats sets out a terrifying view of the world. He writes, "Things fall apart, the center cannot hold." He goes on to show us that even the most well constructed mechanisms will, with time, fall apart. Chaos will rule. Terrifying things will happen. This is not a very fun poem but it is with these acts that I wish to examine today's economy. Of all things, the United States economy is an extremely well and meticulously running machine, or so we think, but as William Butler Yeats says, "Things fall apart. The center cannot hold."