Fucking Economics--this hurts my brain!

First, let me say up front I'm putting this in the money forum, not politics, for specific reasons. I don't want a bunch of bullshit useless political smackdown. I want real discussion, & I want to learn some shit here. I don't want ANY discussion of politicians at all. I want to understand policies & their effects.

Okay, here's the deal:
I'm an intelligent person, but I don't know doodley-squat about large-scale economics. It always frustrated the shit out of me, seemed ridiculously complicated, so it didn't seem worth the effort required to understand it. I figured I didn't NEED a detailed understanding of it. Now I think that's wrong.

Occasionally I've tried discussing things like fiscal policy in the political arena with people; & people with very conservative viewpoints would disagree with me & bash my point of view. But no one could ever give me anything concrete that made SENSE to persuade me to their point of view.

Just lately I've read & heard & seen some stuff that has shaken me to the core, though, & it's being explained in a way that I can grasp--I think. You guys that understand this shit (Meatpile & Freakshow in particular)--talk with me about this stuff, please. Sorry, I really don't know how to narrow down what I'm getting at; so I'm just posting some links to what I've been absorbing. All this is primarily related to US Comptroller General David Walker's current efforts to educate the public about the severity of our national debt, the insanity of how our government keeps its financial records, & the consequences if these issues aren't addressed NOW.


David Walker on Glenn Beck's TV show:
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/219/3776/

60 Minutes piece with Comptroller General of the US, David Walker
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/01/60minutes/main2528226.shtml

26-minute piece--David Walker's explanation of fiscal crisis in term I THINK get:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_LkrKqo-uM

TIA

 

http://www.conciseguidetoeconomics.com/

 

Thanks for the link. From what I've read so far, this looks like exactly the sort of thing I'd had in school--clear, to the point, & a good jumping-off place for further exploration & discussion. Thanks!

correction: exactly the sort of thing I WISH I'd had in school...

 

You might go to a college bookstore and get Econ 101 text with micro and macro economics. To understand the conclusions in the book WilliamJ points out, you need to understand basic economic theory. Don't just read a book where someone says "this doesn't work" or "that doesn't work". Get some fundamental theory first.

 

I appreciate your input. I did take a short eco course in college, & I've tried some books that are supposedly on "basic economic principles." The trouble is that any text on basic economics I've tried has been too frustrating to get very far into. I'm working with a brain that just sees a little of how that shit works & goes, "THAT'S INSANE!" I get fed up with the dryness of it & the insanity of it long before I gain any real understanding. If you know of a particular one that is clear, not horribly dry, & relates the principles to real life in an interesting way, I'd appreciate the title & author(s). Or even something on a single aspect of it that might be helpful.

I wouldn't be putting this much effort into understanding it now if I didn't feel a genuine NEED to really understand what the fuck is going on, because people who supposedly DID know what they were doing have royally fucked us all. Just knowing the basic differences between capitalism & communism & what I need to know to make a living was adequate for me until now.

What WillJ posted seems to be a good starting point for me. It has a definite point of view, which is fine, because it's not pretending otherwise. I really need something this limited & basic. On the details I need to understand better, I can go to the listed resources, & I can look for other resources & for opposing viewpoints.

What knocked me for a real loop with David Walker & his warnings is that knowledgable people from both left & right, as well as more centrists, agree with him. And why the hell isn't this front page news every single day?

I had no idea that our national government separates it's accounting so that you have 3 or 4 separate sets of books to look at to see the whole picture. It would never have occurred to me that they could legally do that. WTF? A business that did that & got caught would be shut down, wouldn't it? Isn't that inherently dishonest? Isn't that cheating in a huge way? & why am I continually surprised at shit like this?

Has anybody else looked at these links? Do they scare you? They scare the hell out of me.

 

Perhaps now you understand why some of us get so confrontational. Some DO understand it. They choose to be selfish and willfully incompetent.

Here is a fun book:
Freakonomics

 

best book i read in 2006.

 

In general, I think being confrontational is counter-productive. Unless, of course, your intention isn't to communicate at all, but just to draw attention to yourself. If I care about an issue, I want to understand it from all sides, & I want to communicate my convictions to people in a way that shows that I know my subject, & that might sway a reasonable person to my point of view. Confrontation is necessary in some contexts. Name-calling & insults are not, & hurt even valid arguments. If you have a message, the point is supposed to be to communicate it in a way that others GET it.

AWESOME book, yes. I read it & was fascinated. It wasn't at all like an economics book. It focused on what DOES interest me--how certain things affect people & society as a whole.

 

it proves the point economic theory can be applied to society.