Ongoing: Inequality and Risk. ⇒
6 September 2005, lunch time
A response to an essay by Paul Graham. Graham's essay is one of those "don't tax the rich or your economy will turn to shit" essays that right wing policy makers cite as the reason they need to cut taxes on people with buckets and buckets of money. If you think money is the only thing that drives anybody, then life becomes much simpler. This is why economics is stupid; yes, stupid. This link was found via Sencer.
This is a post from my link log: If you click the title of this post you will be taken the web page I am discussing.
Why you gotta hate on economics like that? It’s not economics’ fault people are using it to argue in favour of using free market principles to guide policy.
by rishi on September 6 2005, 4:36 pm #
Don’t tax the rich! Tax the poor.
by Victor on September 6 2005, 4:48 pm #
I just through in that last bit because I knew you’d have something to say. Sometimes I do that, to keep people on their toes. That said, it seems silly that social policy in many cases is dictated by economic theory. People should know better.
by ramanan on September 6 2005, 5:25 pm #
You should know better than to think people should know better. You know people aren’t going to know better anytime soon.
by rishi on September 6 2005, 5:45 pm #
Ram,
Thanks for joining the legion of Economics bashers who have little idea of how it can explain every facet of our lives and yet continue to call it the dismal science.
by Sunny on September 6 2005, 9:03 pm #
Are you kidding, or do you honestly think economics can explain every facet of our lives?
by ramanan on September 6 2005, 9:54 pm #
Well yes. It can explain our motivations, our biases, our prejudices. It can explain why we choose to make certain decisions instead of others.
But I will admit that any textbook study of economics is boring and dismal. But that would be true of Physics and Mathematics as well. Its only when you see them applied in our world, or nature, the beauty of it shines through. The same is true of economics.
Economics can show why money doesn’t drive everybody. Alas not many economists apply themselves to the study of human behavior.
by Sunny on September 7 2005, 12:56 am #
I agree with Sunny, economics 101 should be a prerequisite for all university students. It’s crazy how relevant intro economics has been to every class i’ve ever taken in school.
economics isnt simply the worship of money!
by Ananthan on September 7 2005, 3:22 am #
I would argue that Mathematics is intrinsically beautiful.
[Moreover, the beauty of Pure Mathematics can be diluted when you try to “apply” it to the “real” World].
by Ryan on September 7 2005, 3:32 am #
economics isnt simply the worship of money!
Exactly! Econ is about choices not money.
by Sunny on September 7 2005, 12:13 pm #
Ah, but Tax 451, is all about taxes. And there we learn to tax the poor.
by Victor on September 7 2005, 7:18 pm #