Samuelson is Dead

[Gardisten]

Through his "Economics" textbook, first published in 1948 and for years the most widely used college textbook on any topic, his analytical approach became the standard for undergraduate courses. Mr. Bernanke keeps a copy signed by Mr. Samuelson on the shelves in his office at the Fed.

"There's just an enormous amount of what every undergraduate learns that we take for granted that Paul played an absolutely critical role in codifying and uncovering," said MIT economist and National Bureau of Economic Research president James Poterba, who remembers carrying around Mr. Samuelson's textbook as a high school student. "It's like trying to envision how did people do mechanics before Newton."

...

Mr. Samuelson hailed from a family of well-known economists, including brother Robert Summers, sister-in-law Anita Summers and nephew Lawrence Summers, who runs President Barack Obama's National Economic Council.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126072304261489561.html

[rainman]

I had a college textbook written by one of Obama's main economists/economic advisors like one of the top guys not sure if its the same guy. Anyway it basically has a hard on for free trade. Yet Obama campaigned against free trade, yet as usual he has done nothing to end NAFTA etc. which the media ignores the 1,000 pound elephant and then he enacts a temporary measure on tire tariffs that might last a year at most and the media makes a circus out of it. Obviously the media is in on the deception.

The thing about free trade is that it benefits national economies. If a trade was not economically beneficial the free market would not have it be made so. yet it ignores the fact that free trade basically smashes our modern political ideas. By opening our borders to products produces from slave labor and such obviously it undermines our own minimal wage laws, labor protection, environmental standards etc. basically everything in their philosphy is reduced to dollars and cents. One must even consider national security when having unbridled free trade. None of it seems to matter to modern leaders- it's all about money. So basically our nation has been sold out for a bag full of sheckles or thirty pieces of silver.

I suppose if we can lower wages to about 2 cents an hour and make 5 year old kids work until their fingers bleed then we can start being more competitive globally and the free market will fix things. Unless we want that happening- throw up some tariffs. Not to mention a strong middle class seems to help national prosperity rathre than hinder it. The social conditions in a nation full of slavery and poverty is apalling. Which is where we are heading. The only solution would be for the government to redistribute the wealth from free trade via taxing the corporations, rich etc. which we get back to square one wouldn't it make more sense to tax the imports themselves??? The policy seems so irrational yet these economists think they are geniuses.

Within the book it constantly talks about how stupid the public is and then tries to point out logically how public thinking is wrong. It points out for instance how most people in public polls are against free trade but the genius economists know better. I guess its hard to see the world from high atop washington hill with millions of dollars to cloud your judgement but average americans are loosing $20 an hour jobs and gaining $7 an hour jobs I think they have good reason to be against free trade. When our baby milk has poison in it and chinese drywall is making people sick- umm maybe these average citizens are on to something that mr. economist does not see.