Popular Economics: What the Rolling Stones, Downton Abbey, and Lebron James Can Teach You about Economics - Hardcover

by John Tamny (Author)

"John Tamny is a one-man antidote to economic obfuscation and mystification." --George Will, Nationally Syndicated Columnist

"In spirit, Tamny does for economics what the Gutenberg printing press did for the Bible, making a previously inaccessible subject open to all. Equally important, he does to economists what Toto did to the Wizard of Oz: pulling aside the curtain to expose the fraud that has become modern economics." --Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Forbes Media

"Ignore John Tamny's easy to read Popular Economics at your own moral peril. It's as close to spiritual as you get in this realm--a better tutorial than any econ text." - Ken Fisher, Founder & CEO, Fisher Investments

"John's book is many things. It's a great way to learn economics, it's a very strong case for economic liberty, and it is an epic myth-buster. I will be giving it out to friends, of all viewpoints, for a long, long time." - Cliff Asness, Managing Principal, AQR Capital

ECONOMICS 101

In Popular Economics: What the Rolling Stones, Downton Abbey, and LeBron James Can Teach You About Economics (Regnery Publishing; April 13, 2015; $27.99) Tamny translates the so-called difficult and intimidating subject of economics into plain language, revealing that there is nothing mysterious about finance, commerce, and budgets. In fact, we are all microeconomists in our daily lives.

"Economics is easy, and its lessons are all around us," says Tamny. "But Americans have allowed the so-called 'experts' to convince them they can't understand, much less grow the economy. Happily, economic growth is simple, too. If you can understand the four basic elements of economic growth--taxes, regulation, trade, and money-- prosperity will explode."

Much like Freakonomics, Tamny uses pop culture and engaging stories to illustrate how understanding our economy is common sense--just look no further than the movies we enjoy, the sports we watch, and what we do every day.

In Popular Economics, you'll discover:

• How Paris Hilton and the Dallas Cowboys help illustrate good and bad tax policy
• How Facebook and Monday Night Football demonstrate the debilitating effect of antitrust regulation
• How the simple act of cooking chicken wings reveals why the "floating dollar" is a recipe for disaster
• Why Downton Abbey and ESPN are evidence that the U.S. should bulldoze its tax code

Front Jacket

Economics is really pretty basic. In fact, it's everywhere you look.

But a lot of people want you to think economics is terribly complicated. Politicians, bureaucrats, special-interest groups, and economists themselves have managed to turn common sense and simple cause-and-effect into a mystery religion. And they want you, the ordinary taxpayer, to keep a respectful distance.

John Tamny is here to break the spell with Popular Economics. You don't need a Ph.D. and a graphing calculator to understand the economic lessons that are all around us--just the self-confidence to see what's in front of your nose. Stimulating economic growth is pretty simple, too. It all comes down to Taxes, Regulation, Trade, and Money. Get these four things right, and economic growth would explode.

Taxes. Think of taxes as a penalty for working. If Great Britain raises Mick Jagger's income tax rate high enough, the Rolling Stones are going to find somewhere else to live, and the amount of taxes Great Britain collects from Mick will be zero.

Regulation. The smartest people in any industry aren't the regulators, they're the people making a living at it. Regulation is based on the fantasy that the mediocre can effectively direct the best and brightest. That's like expecting the Appalachian State football team to beat Michigan every time they play.

Trade. LeBron James could be a pretty good tight end in the NFL, but in basketball he's the best in the world. So it makes no sense for him to play football. That's called comparative advantage, and it's the foundation of free trade.

Money. Imagine playing football if the length of a yard changed on every play. Yet that's how we run our economy. The value of the dollar--the economy's unit of measure--changes in value every minute.

Government tries to convince us that free markets are dangerous. To believe that, we have to ignore reality, and plenty of professional economists are trying to help us do that.

But Popular Economics shows that you're an economist too--and a better one than you think.

Author Biography

John Tamny is the editor of RealClearMarkets and the Political Economy editor at Forbes, where he also has a weekly column. He is a senior director with the Cato Institute and a senior economic advisor to Toreador Research & Trading.

Mr. Tamny frequently writes about tax, trade, and monetary policy issues for a variety of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, Financial Times, National Review, and London's Daily Telegraph. He also recently wrote The End of Work.

As a regular panelist on Fox News' Forbes on Fox, he has appeared as a financial expert on numerous television shows, including Your World with Neil Cavuto, and CNBC's Kudlow Report.

Mr. Tamny lives with his wife, Kendall, in Washington, D.C.