Wednesday, July 27th, 2005 By Matthew Hisrich
Top 10 economic fallacies
This excellent review of common misperceptions that unfortunately can shape public policy just celebrated its one-year anniversary:
I became intrigued with how the United States had remained prosperous, its economy still so dynamic and productive, given the serious and recurring economic fallacies to which our top leaders (political, corporate, academic) have subscribed and from which they cannot seem to free themselves—and alas, keep passing down to the younger generation.
Let’s consider ten.
Myth #1: The Broken Window
Myth #2: The Beneficence of War
Myth #3: The Best Way to Finance a War is by Borrowing
Myth #4: Deficit Spending Benefits the Economy and Government Debt
Myth #5: Government Policies to Promote Exports are a Good Idea
Myth #6: Commercial Warfare Works
Myth #7: The Late Nineteenth Century was an Era of Laissez-Faire Capitalism
Myth #8: Business Corporations Favor a Policy of Laissez-Faire
Myth #9: Hamilton Was Great
Myth #10: Agrarianism or Industrialism: We Must Choose
[G. Dirk Mateer, "Ohio's Proposed Economic Standards," The Buckeye Institute, 30 October 2002.]
