The other day I wrote about U.S. Rep. David Price’s prescription for our energy problems, and I noted how it conforms in no way to proven economic principles. I also noted that the North Carolina Democrat was a political scientist and not an economist. Still, that shouldn’t excuse a member of Congress from understanding the basic laws of supply and demand.
The editorial page of the Manchester Union-Leader in New Hampshire, edited by former Carolina Journal editor Drew Cline, has a novel approach to the economic ignorance of congressional Democrats:
Maybe the quickest way to lower oil and gas prices would be this: Immediately enroll every Democratic member of Congress in an entry-level economics class.
The lack of even a basic grasp of economic concepts has led Democrats to oppose sensible policies that would begin to lower oil and gas prices. Instead, they push hair-brained ideas that make no sense.
To be fair, it’s not just Democrats who don’t understand economics. Millions of children are going through public schools with nary a mention of the importance of the economy in our daily lives, and the notion that risk-taking and profit are what give people jobs and incomes.
The News & Observer today has a story illustrating that deficiency in our education curricula. The N.C. Bankers Association and the 4-H Clubs have had to join forces to create a summer camp to teach kids about finance in hopes that in the future they won’t, among other things, sign on to mortgages they can’t pay back.
Maybe they could allow some members of Congress to enroll next summer.
