Baby-Sitting the Economy - By Paul Krugman - Slate Magazine
Via Matthew Yglesias a nice Paul Krugman article from 1998 about recessions, using babysitting as an extended metaphor/example. It doesn't really say anything you don't already know, but having everything expressed concretely in terms of a single-industry economy makes it easier to get your head around than a more accurate but more jargon-ridden description.