Economic Understanding Quotes

It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.

We have learned that the various schools of [economic] thought all have important elements of truth in them. But none of them is by itself a sufficient explanation of what goes on in the economy.

President Obama insists he's a free-market guy. But you have to wonder whether he understands how a free economy really works.

It is a misfortune of the times that all of us must needs be amateur economists-including, and perhaps especially, the professionals.

Modern trade unions understood that deciphering a balance sheet was more important than decoding Das Kapital.

If the public understands the central bank's views on the economy and monetary policy, then households and businesses will take those views into account in making their spending and investment plans; policy will be more effective as a result.

By the time I returned to Czechoslovakia, I had an understanding of the principles of the market.

The media simply does not understand Econ 101.

The Trouble with liberals is twofold: They have a horrible blind spot with respect to moral principles and they have an abysmal understanding of economic principles.

Most academic economists know nothing of economy. In fact, they know little of anything.

I've seen a lot of government try to solve problems, and it didn't work. And my view is that the right course for America is to have someone who understands how the economy works who will passionately get America back on track.

Will the politicians of all countries one day understand that it is as useless to shake one's fist at economics as it was for Xerxes to flog the sea--that it is far better to set to work to study this new science, born within the last fifty years, which they have been foolish enough to ignore or never to learn?

I'm just saying that if you understand how the economic machine works, it just works like a machine. There are cause-effect relationships.

I don't think Obama understands basic economics. Not economics that work. He may understand some theory that someone in Princeton sat and dreamed up, but it's not working.

'Economics for Everybody' begins with understanding God's principles for organizing His creation and what that means for us as creatures and stewards.

Most Americans don't know enough about basic economics to fill out one fortune cookie.

If in the human economy, a squash in the field is worth more than a bushel of soil, that does not mean that food is more valuable than soil; it means simply that we do not know how to value the soil. In its complexity and its potential longevity, the soil exceeds our comprehension; we do not know how to place a just market value on it, and we will never learn how. Its value is inestimable; we must value it, beyond whatever price we put on it, by respecting it.

What many economists fail to understand is that poor people are no less concerned about improving their lot and that of their children than rich people are.

Asking liberals where wages and prices come from is like asking six-year-olds where babies come from.

My interest in economics just basically comes because I think I'm a curious person, and I'm interested in how the world works.

Of all recent presidents, Clinton was expected to behave the most sensibly in economic matters. He understood how the economy works. But because he had used various dodges to stay out of the Vietnam War, he came to office ill at ease with the military.

Having seen a non-market economy, I suddenly understood much better what I liked about a market economy.

In abandoning the understanding that things - services, goods, wars, and houses - have costs, we risk becoming infantilised, incapable of making decisions about government or finance, and perhaps above all about the environment, the wellbeing of the planet upon which we depend and which our children will inherit from us.

The greatest decisions I've made in my life are by instinct. I remember when I hired Bill I had a lot of people telling me it was a mistake. But he and I had established a rapport in '96 when he coached the secondary. You need a coach that understands economics, that understands the impact of the salary cap and how to make those difficult decisions that allow you to sustain success over the long term. I don't think there's anyone better than Bill at doing that.

I'm a big advocate of financial intelligence.