My problem with this movie is the
assumption that it would take 500 years to create a nation of non-thinkers. As I see it, in many ways, we have already
arrived.
I have been an economist for just
over 30 years. When I reflect back
over what life was like over that time period I clearly recall how simple my
job used to be. Granted, economics is
not easy. It is indeed one of the most
challenging subjects you can study. What
was easy was the degree to which Americans could process economic theory and
supporting evidence in a myriad of categories.
Take the concept of international
trade for example. Economists dating
back to Adam Smith have clearly illustrated how the principle of comparative
advantage leads to mutual gains from trade.
There is a reason, I tell people that we have grocery stores rather than
gardens. We all use the money we make
from where we are skilled and then give that money away to farmers who possess
an advantage over us in the growing of everything we want to eat. We win when we get good food at prices we can
afford and we win because we do not have to allocate long hours to learning how
to coax a tomato out of the ground.
When Florida sends oranges to
Minnesota we do not hear about Minnesotans massing at their border in protest
over the “dumping” of oranges in their state any more than Floridians complain
when corn from Minnesota arrives in our stores.
Both states win from this event.
The same is true when we buy
steel from Canada. Oops.
We seemed to understand that
trade from nation to nation makes sense – years ago. Today, when I try to show Americans how
foolish President Trump’s steel tariffs are, I get much more resistance from
Trump supporters who contend that somehow he is going to magically bring back
the moribund and horribly inefficient American steel industry. Canada, I hear, is keeping America from bring
back jobs in this key industry. No
matter how much I (and other economists) point out the last time we tried this
more than 200,000 jobs were lost in the steel-using industries (see George W.
Bush’s steel tariffs), Trump voters believe that their guy has special powers
over the laws of economics.
It does not get much better when
immigration comes up. Forgetting for a
moment that economists have repeatedly shown that immigrants create more jobs
than they displace; engage in less crime than native-born Americans; use social
welfare benefits less than Americans and play a valuable role in keeping prices
down in everything from agriculture to home construction; Trump supporters in
my classes and in the community want no part of it. They don’t even want to hear about speeches
by Republican legend, Ronald Reagan, calling for amnesty and promoting open
doors for immigrant seeking greater liberty and opportunities.
Talking to Democrats is also an
exercise in futility.
For the new wave of Bernie
Sanders/Elizabeth Warren supporters it is like talking to a wall when you show
them the economic policies of John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton.
It is staggering the blank stares
of incredulity that I get as I lecture on Kennedy’s massive personal and
corporate income tax cuts and how the economy of the 1960’s achieved record low
unemployment rates, rising incomes and a doubling of government tax revenue in
the wake of his pro-growth tax cuts.
Instead, the fans of Bernie want
the top 1% to be hammered with higher taxes in the name of “fairness”. Asking them to define fairness yields more
blank stares.
When people I talk to learn of
Bill Clinton’s passage of NAFTA and his global drive to open foreign markets to
American investment capital, they adopt the anti-trade sentiment of Bernie and
Donald Trump even when they see the data on net increases in wages and jobs in
the wake of his sound trade policies.
I could mention the trouble I run
into explaining the stupidity of the $15 minimum wage and Bernie’s idea of
providing jobs and health care to every American who wants one, but this paper
limits my word count.
If America is to avoid becoming a
land of idiots, it is incumbent upon all of us who understand truth to engage
our fellow citizens. Otherwise, the
profanity-using, professional wrestler President is right around the cor…….
Never mind.
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