The book Economics In One Lesson is about economic policies, and how these policies should take into account the effect they will have on everyone involved, not just one group. It also discusses and illustrates how economics should be focused on long term effects, rather than ignoring or overlooking the long term and only focusing on the short term. The author states that the most common fallacy in economics is to concentrate on the short-run effects of policies on special groups and to ignore or belittle the long-run effects on the community as a whole. Throughout the book, the chapters give lessons and examples that bring this one overriding lesson into focus. The author sums up economics in a single sentence: "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."
The author discusses the enormous faith many people have in government spending. He writes: "There is no more persistent and influential faith in the world today than the faith in government spending." But he quickly points out the fallacy of assuming that things can be fixed if the government just spends more money on a given problem or weakness. A current example of this fallacy in action is the public education system in the United States. In the book by Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity, the author, John Stossel, discusses the public education system in the United States. Many policy-makers and citizens alike have the notion that the best way to improve the public education system in our country is with more money. But time after time, studies and statistics have shown that children aren't getting a better education when more tax dollars are given to the school system. It's been proven that no direct correlation exists between the amount of money allocated to the public school system, and the quality of education a child receives. Yet the mantra is frequently repeated by many: "Give more money to our school system in order to improve it" as if this will automatically fix the problems. There are a host of problems with the public education system, one of which is not a lack of funds.
The author states that "The economic goal of any nation, as of any individual, is to get the greatest results with the least efforts. The whole economic progress of mankind has consisted in getting more production with the same labor." He goes on to write: "Each of us is trying to save his own labor, to economize the means required to achieve his ends. Every employer, small as well as large, seeks constantly to gain his results more economically and efficiently - that is, by saving labor." America is a highly technological, highly productive society. America has the highest standard of living in the history of humanity. Technology and innovation is abundant. Unfortunately, a common economic delusion is that machines and technology destroy jobs. If this were true, it could be said then that civilization contributed to unemployment with the first efforts to improve efficiency through labor-saving inventions like the wheel. In a recent speech given by a politician, he suggested that "we go back to the days of living without ATM machines, because they have destroyed the jobs of many bank tellers." This illustrates the fallacy of concentrating on the short-run effects of something (implementing ATM machines) on a small group of people (bank tellers) and ignoring the long run positive effects on the community (business and consumers) as a whole. The short-run effect is that fewer bank tellers are needed now that ATM machines are widely implemented and used. However the long-run effects are advantageous to the economy. Who manufactures the ATM machines? Who creates and programs the software used in these machines? Who services them when they need calibration, software upgrades, or repair? ATM machines have created jobs, increased production, and raised the standard of living. They have lowered costs for banks by reducing the amount of wages paid out to bank tellers. In turn, banks have passed these savings onto the consumer. ATM's have also increased our quality of life by making the task of depositing and withdrawing money quicker, easier, and more efficient (fewer lines, no dependence on bank hours, and so forth). The ATM market has increased production and efficiency, and contributed to the expansion of the U.S. economy.
In conclusion, I would highly recommend this book. It was very informative and clearly written. The author has a tremendous way of articulating tried and proven economic principles in a straightforward, understandable style. I'm thoroughly convinced that if more politicians and legislators would have followed the common sense economic fundamentals and lessons found in this book, the present state of the U.S. economy would be much healthier and robust.
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But need is not demand. Effective economic demand requires not merely need but corresponding purchasing power.Highlighted by 4,361 Kindle readers- Therefore, for every public job created by the bridge project a private job has been destroyed somewhere else.Highlighted by 3,294 Kindle readers
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By far the best cure to socialism
This book turned me from a pro government Bernie lover to a laissez faire capitalist in only 200 pages of pure logic. Read it, no matter how much you hate capitalism. In fact, I'd argue the more you hate capitalism, the more you need this book
