Economics 101. Nobody I know ever enjoyed this class. It was BORING! I took Economics in my senior year in high school because it was the requisite Social Studies class, along with Political Science And Government. Then, Economics was a requisite for my History/Political Science major in college.
I will tell you that having taken several "Eco" classes, I was fascinated at the time by how much one uses so much of the theory in our daily lives. I had thought Eco was all about graphs and figures, and stuff we didn't really know. Boy, was I wrong!
Economics, as I learned it, was integrated with other courses I was required to take for my studies: Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology. In each case, some of my Eco adjuncts understood that while the numbers and graphs were important, it was necessary to understand the application and result of the theory, too.
Now, as I said on top, this is all very boring to those individuals who studied natural sciences, math, accounting, law, foreign languages or even elementary education. But to someone who loved the social sciences and history, well, it was truly opening the window and letting in the fresh air.
Which, finally, brings me to my point.
There are many economists who appear on the different cable channels and most, quite honestly, are as boring as the subject matter. But some, including Stuart Varney, Maria Bartiromo and Jim Cramer, make it all more enjoyable because they can "dumb it down" in a way that we can understand, while not patronizing us in the process.
Unfortunately, too many of our politicians either did not take Economics, or if they did, have no real concepts of what they allegedly learned. Perhaps, because they didn't have someone like Varney, Bartiromo or Cramer open that window. Instead, they all sound like fools, when trying to argue their talking points. It really doesn't matter if they are Dems or Repubs; they are all just a bunch of knaves. They really don't understand the subject matter, and sadly, it shows.
There are two men in the House that do understand the economy and Economics better than any other of our elected officials, Paul Ryan and Chris Van Hollen. While they each approach it from different political views, they are the two that get it. Everyone else in the Congress, and the President, needs to be quiet and learn.
Perhaps, the media needs to pay more attention to these individuals, because then, the rest of us will learn how and why our economy works, and what is its driving force. Because the news of our "impending doom" regarding the debt ceiling "crisis" is greatly exaggerated.
And the threat of a downgrade by Fitch is like the boy crying wolf. That won't happen because default won't happen.
No matter if the Congress acts or not. Why? Economics 101.
No comments:
Post a Comment