Galbraith clan could raise a double toast

University of Texas economist James Galbraith is taking a pilgrimage this weekend – to the farming settlement on Lake Erie's north shore where, 100 years ago this week, his late father, John Kenneth Galbraith, the U.S. liberal icon, was born.

The professor will join the gaggle of Galbraiths descending this evening on the West Elgin Dramatic Society hall in Dutton, Ont., to hand out a literary award in his father's name.

No doubt, they will also express bittersweet satisfaction that the financial crisis sweeping the world is proving John Kenneth Galbraith was right – about the dangers of hyper-capitalism, the excesses of Wall Street, and the madness of financial deregulation.