Thursday, November 10, 2011

Economics

I should state the obvious. I read a lot about economics, but there is much I don't really understand -- in part, I think, because I worked in accounting for years. I think like an accountant: there are problems that need solution, and there are resources. One uses the resources to solve the problems. It's very simple.

Here is a quote from the economist Dean Baker:
Economics is about making simple things complicated. The complexity both excludes most of the public from policy debates and also gives economists their status as masters of a complex discipline.

Complexity also obscures power relationships and the issue of ownership. Why do some people have so much? Why do many people work so hard and end up with little or nothing?
If a society is facing a huge problem -- global economic collapse and global warning -- why is it not possible to mobilize all the society's resources. Why are we told that ownership is more important than the survival of the human race?

Anyway, I write about economics a lot because I think about it a lot. I am not an expert.

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