If the scheme is still in effect when the next recession begins, perhaps it will make the situation less severe.

NEWYORKER: Replay

The ECB's auction may make a credit crunch less severe, but it is not enough to avoid one.

ECONOMIST: The ECB fills banks with funds

Safety campaigners have suggested lower speed limits make crashes less likely and less severe when they do happen but the figures have triggered a debate on how useful the restrictions are.

BBC: Car and van crash

Last week Timothy Geithner, the Federal Reserve's man on Wall Street, gave warning that all this might make financial crises less common, but more severe.

ECONOMIST: Financial markets

And he said that severe clinical depression, or schizophrenia could make the parent less able to cope with the psychological pressures associated with fertility treatment.

BBC: 'Ban IVF for smokers and drinkers'

Mandating a floating NAV would make short term financing for American business less efficient and more costly, ensuring a severe setback for an economy emerging from a recession.

FORBES: Why Floating NAV For Money Market Funds Is A Terrible Idea