Is America’s economy turning into a casino? Both yes and no

Americans are taking too many bad risks and too few good ones

- ALLISON SCHRAGER

Economic cycles are worsened by unskilled risk takers.

(ISTOCKPHOTO)

There is a frenetic, sweaty-palm feel to the US economy lately. Markets are looking frothy and consumers are anxious, and meanwhile the gambling and stock markets are converging as people bet on all sorts of strange assets and events.

Half of young men in the US have an online sports betting account and some of them are developing a problem.

All of which raises the question: [Are Americans] in a casino economy, a risky free-for-all that is bound to crash and burn? The short, unsatisfying answer is 'yes' and 'no.' In many ways, the economy has never been safer, but people are avoiding healthy risks and taking bad ones.

The argument for a casino economy is—well, just look around.

First, there is artificial intelligence (AI), which like all new technologies creates boom-and-bust cycles that involve overinvestment in the wrong things, overvalued stocks, speculation and eventually a crash. AI may yet transform the US economy and enrich humanity, but along the way it will create new financial risks and more than a few bumps.