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Economic Facts and Fallacies, by Thomas Sowell

Thursday, August 30th, 2012

Economic Facts and Fallacies is a clear and understandable exposition of some of the widely believed economic principles that do not happen to be true. Following these principles leads to unnecessary hardship and inefficiencies in our economy.

The first chapter presents four general types of fallacies, and then the rest of the book presents specific examples in six areas. The examples are numerous and interesting. Most discussions are fairly short and simple, but they make powerful points. (more…)

Capitalism and Freedom, by Milton Friedman

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012

This relatively small book (202 pages) does an excellent job of making the case that economic freedom (capitalism) is necessary to truly have most other freedoms we value as Americans. Freedom of the press is worth little without the freedom to invest capital in a printing press. Freedom of assembly is worth little if you cannot spend the money required to buy or rent the space in which the assembly takes place.

Of course, economic freedom is a goal in it self. Is it not better for consumers to deal with vendors that take the best care of them and their needs or desires? Is it not good that people can create new products rather than just create what some bureaucrat specifies? (more…)

The Flat Tax, by Dick Armey

Thursday, August 16th, 2012

The Flat Tax is a small book to describe and advocate a particular tax reform proposed in 1996, so it is slightly dated for use in political discussion today. However, it is an excellent exposition of the advantages of tax simplification and fairness.

Congressman Armey expected that the tax code would soon be thrown out and replaced with something far simpler, fairer, and more efficient (9). Unfortunately, he was a bit over-optimistic about the power of the people to get things changed. (more…)

Just plug the Welfare drain completely

Wednesday, August 15th, 2012

Comment: The whole situation on trying to reform welfare is unnecessary and a waste of time if you ask me.
The country is not going to fix itself if  people who work hard for a living are forced to give some of their paycheck to the sluggards of our country who get paid to do NOTHING.  I agree that it was a system that was created to help people through hard areas of their lives (and I’m sorry for the people out there who actually do need welfare support to get back on their feet), but throughout time people have figured out how to take advantage of the system and how to keep receiving “FREE” money without having to do anything… (more…)

The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith

Wednesday, August 15th, 2012

The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, is one of the most important books in the history of economics. It is a difficult read due to the different world that existed then. For example, Smith predicts that the day will come when only fifty percent of the work force will be involved in farming to feed the population. Today, that occupation is less than three percent of the work force in the United States.

The challenge in reading this book also arises from some archaic language, the use of old units of currency, and the excessive detail in many of the examples.

However, this book includes many principles that are still applicable today: (more…)