I be back

Ok, so it's been a long while. I've been a bit busy, and when I'm busy I tend to prioritize my reading over my writing.

Speaking of reading, read this. If there's one thing that everybody needs to learn about economics, it's that the conventional wisdom is wrong. It doesn't matter if you're hearing a liberal spouting the Democratic party line or a conservative spouting the Republican party line--either way, it's a pretty good bet that what you're hearing is flawed logic. Our politicians love to take credit for good economic news and shift blame for bad news, but the dirty little secret is that politicians have precious little ability to control the overall state of the economy.

What can they control? They can make sure that government isn't spending more money than it is taking in. They can break down (or erect) regulatory barriers to trade. That's about it. Conservatives have been marginally better than liberals in regards to trade regulation, but both sides of the aisle are having problems grasping the concept that budgets are supposed to be balanced.

Anyway, read the whole thing--I like seeing everybody's ox get gored.