The Science of Economics

I "learned" economics from Campbell McConnell at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Back then, the course was taught on television and was mandatory for first year business students. There were a lot of us and not enough space at UNL so Econ 101 was one of those "eliminator" courses. UNL operated on a 9 point scare-that's ADCD with the plus and minus stuff put in there. Most important, the draft was hanging over the heads of every able-bodied male student. Get below a 3.0 and the letter would soon come..."Greeting...you're going on an extended vacation to sunny Viet Nam."

There were no big screen TV's  back then. A 30" screen was a monster. The TV's were mounted on top of metal stands and put in front of the class so you could squint and watch Dr. McConnell go through the science of Economics. He presented a series of graphs as the TV flickered along.

There was also a lab taught by an underling.  In my case, a Korean underling. He was very hard to understand and therefore, so was McConnell's course. Tests were impossible.

Micro. Macro. Macroroni and cheese. I really didn't give a damn. This was not why I came to UNL. Next to Statistics, this was the most worthless course I have ever taken. UNL got good money for a bad presentation and that was the bottom line. The economy didn't gain a thing. Only the Army benefited.

As you might guess, I am not a big fan of Economics. I am not a big fan of Economists, either. All I got out of that class was eyestrain; Korean pig English; and a new definition of economics that still works today.

Economics is the science of applying labels to cover theft by the government, banks, and the stock market. Today, we call that kind of theft...bailouts. The Korean might have actually nailed this one...bailrouts.