Welcome back, Opening Bell crew. I'm Phil Rosen, reporting from New York City.
This morning I'm thinking about Joseph Heller's 1961 book "Catch-22." Since it came out, the name's become a colloquial way of describing a snafu defined by conflicting ideas.
Heller coined the term in describing a soldier who wishes to stop flying dangerous combat missions.
But soldiers can only be grounded if they are found "unfit to fly."
"Unfit," however, is defined as any pilot who is willing to fly such dangerous missions, which is nobody.
That means the pilots who are wise enough to request to stop flying is proof that they are indeed fit to fly.
"Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy," as Heller put it.
It's one of my favorite books, and the idea is relevant today because "Catch-22" is a fitting characterization of what's facing stocks and economy right now.