Common Misconceptions of Economic Policy
Jerry Wyant
- In
- this
- book,
- you
- will
- find
- essays
- on
- common
- misconceptions
- in
- topics
- such
- as
- taxes;
- unemployment;
- inflation;
- income
- inequality;
- deficits
- and
- debt;
- Social
- Security;
- welfare;
- and
- the
- roles
- that
- market
- forces,
- corporations,
- and
- the
- government
- play
- in
- the
- economy.
I
- do
- my
- best
- to
- write
- about
- economics
- in
- language
- that
- is
- easy
- to
- understand
- for
- everyday
- citizens
- -
- those
- who
- are
- unfamiliar
- with
- or
- uncomfortable
- with
- the
- language
- of
- economics.
- The
- essays
- in
- this
- book
- have
- been
- written
- with
- such
- a
- reading
- audience
- in
- mind.
- My
- hope
- is
- that
- if
- you
- have
- reading
- comprehension
- skills,
- you
- can
- understand
- what
- I
- am
- trying
- to
- say,
- even
- if
- you
- tend
- to
- shy
- away
- from
- the
- subject
- of
- economics.
I
- am
- not
- using
- this
- book
- as
- a
- platform
- to
- use
- political
- labels
- and
- political
- talking
- points
- in
- order
- to
- make
- political
- statements
- based
- on
- a
- predetermined
- political
- position.
- My
- agenda
- is
- to
- use
- truth
- and
- logic
- in
- order
- to
- debunk
- such
- statements.
- People
- will
- find
- that
- the
- conclusions
- I
- reach
- tend
- to
- fall
- towards
- the
- progressive
- –
- rather
- than
- the
- conservative
- –
- end
- of
- what
- the
- political
- spectrum
- has
- become
- in
- modern
- times.
- I
- already
- know
- that
- many
- people
- who
- blindly
- follow
- conservative
- talking
- points
- will
- see
- my
- conclusions
- and
- denounce
- what
- I
- have
- to
- say,
- based
- solely
- on
- a
- liberal
- label
- that
- they
- attach
- to
- me,
- with
- no
- regard
- for
- the
- actual
- points
- I
- make.
- This
- happens
- all
- the
- time.
- They
- can’t
- –
- or
- at
- least
- they
- choose
- not
- to
- –
- logically
- rebut
- the
- actual
- points
- being
- made.
- Instead,
- they
- commit
- several
- logical
- fallacies
- (Section
- 12
- of
- this
- book)
- through
- a
- personal
- attack.
- But
- they
- are
- not
- alone.
- On
- those
- occasions
- when
- my
- conclusions
- don’t
- coincide
- with
- commonly-held
- liberal
- positions,
- I
- get
- the
- same
- treatment
- from
- those
- who
- blindly
- follow
- liberal
- talking
- points.
I
- have
- found
- that
- the
- truth
- does
- not
- lie
- on
- the
- side
- of
- anybody’s
- talking
- points.
- I
- have
- also
- found
- that
- the
- truth
- cannot
- be
- found
- by
- making
- an
- attempt
- to
- balance
- opposing
- talking
- points.
- The
- truth
- can
- only
- be
- found
- through
- an
- unbiased
- search
- for
- the
- truth.
- That
- truth
- is
- rarely
- found
- straight
- down
- the
- center.
- I
- have
- concluded
- that
- it
- is
- dishonest
- as
- well
- as
- illogical
- to
- tailor
- an
- argument
- so
- that
- it
- agrees
- with
- the
- left,
- the
- right,
- or
- the
- center.
- The
- truth
- is
- what
- it
- is,
- regardless
- of
- labels.
This
- book
- is
- a
- follow-up
- to
- Sanity
- and
- Public
- Policy:
- Separating
- Truth
- from
- Truisms,
- by
- Jerry Wyant.
