Part 5/16:
Some argue that recessions are a natural—if painful—part of economic cycles, serving as necessary cleansing mechanisms to eliminate unproductive entities. However, recent decades have seen an unprecedented effort by policymakers to avoid recessions altogether, arguably leading to artificial stability.
Data reveals that the US spends the least amount of time in recession in the last century, which on the surface appears to be a policy success. Yet, this "success" may come at the cost of financial resilience. Extended periods without downturns can mask inherent vulnerabilities, building up pressure that could result in a catastrophic correction when the system eventually resets.