A Dose of Economic Reality

SEE HERE No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the people was something P.T. Barnum said, well approximately.  It helps if the people have not received much of an education and this is particularly true if they don't know anything about economics.  The sheer amount of misinformation, disinformation, total ignorance and stupidity about economics is on display everyday on the television and radio whether coming from talking heads or Occupy Wall Street demonstrators.  I suppose the reason for the ignorance is a failure of education, but whatever the reason we should be hesitant to act on emotion and instead learn what is being talked about.

Wealth is something which is the natural result of human work.  Some wealth can be accumulated and some wealth is very transient.  Food rots, houses fall into dilapidated condition, and this is true of most things.  So wealth tends to vanish over time even when held in the most durable goods.  One primary fallacy is that of "Zero Sum Game Thinking."  You hear it all the time since it fuels envy rather well.  The reason I'm poor is that the wealthy are hoarding all the money.  Well, sorry, but it doesn't work that way.  The reason anyone is poor is that they are too busy doing other things to focus on doing something actually productive.  To create wealth you have to do stuff and there is plenty to do.  You can mow lawns or as I did as a boy, deliver papers, or as my son did, work in a grocery store.  Generally you don't start at the top so you're not paid well at first.  But if you show a good work ethic and have talent you will rise.

We have a lot of people with an entitlement mentality in the country these days.  I'm always hearing people say they deserve this or that.  Well let me break it to you bluntly: You don't deserve anything that you have not earned.  Existence doesn't entitle you to anything.  Also feeling sorry for yourself is a great impediment to doing anything useful.  Get over it and get cracking!  You can do it, but only if you decide to.  Most people who say they can't do something have never so much as tried.  G.K. Chesterton, one of my very favorite people said,"Anything worth doing is worth doing badly!" and that's good advice because the first time you do anything you tend to do it badly.  The second time a little better and if you keep doing it and learning from your mistakes it gets better and better and better.  Pretty soon people are saying stupid things like "Wow, you're really good at that.  I guess you just have a talent for it."  You can smile and say something like "Thanks, I've been doing it a long time and I think I've finally gotten it right."