"The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups."
Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson
If you learn this one thing, the difference between good and bad economic policy becomes clear. You will never be hoodwinked by economic imbeciles (most politicians and all Liberals) or special interests again.
This single idea applies to bailouts, "saving industries", tariffs, subsidies, special tax breaks, government loans and guarantees, and any other economic advantage legislated for a particular industry or interest.
In the end, it means government needs to stay out of business. They don't know what they're doing, they'll believe anything, especially if combined with color charts, graphs and campaign contributions...and everything they do makes everything worse.
Every "new" argument for any of these cockamamie schemes is nothing but an old pig in a new bonnet. They've been proved time and again as failures. But they just adopt new aliases, and because we refuse to learn from our mistakes, we just keep repeating them.
Reading Economics in One Lesson should be a requirement for holding office—and voting.
The Gunslinger
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