Good Thomas Sowell Article

Random Ramblings
1

There’s a good Thomas Sowell article out this morning…

Fo those of you that don’t know Thomas Sowell, he’s not ‘just some guy’. He’s an African American originally from rural North Carolina. He didn’t finish high school and went to work for the civil service in DC. He was drafted, went into the USMC, and served during the Korean War. After discharge, he got his GED and enrolled at Howard University, later transferring to Harvard University, graduating in 1958 magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He later received a Master of Arts in Economics from Columbia University in 1959, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Economics from the University of Chicago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sowell

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/537967/201006211813/Is-US-Now-On-Slippery-Slope-To-Tyranny-.aspx

Keith

2

I know Thomas Sowell. I have talked to him many times. Thomas Sowell is an idiot. He doesn’t think you should be doing what you are doing either. We had an argument over that. Using his logic the constitution says that we should not have and national parks either.

3

Out of curiousity, I’d like to know which economist you think isn’t an idiot. Seriously, I’d like to read some of their work.

JP

4

Can I suggest some good economists? Unfortunately most of them are dead, but their work is still spot on today.

Ludwig von Mises

F. A. Hayek

Milton Friedman (watch his old Donahue video on youtube)

Murray Rothbard

Henry Hazlitt

5

Good point. He is not dumb, but he is not practical. An economist is like a scientist. They look at how the laws work. Business is a section of economics and is like the comparison of scientist (economists) to engineers (business people) Business people take the concepts of economics and make them work. Not unlike an engineer takes the principles of science and make them actually work.

My argument with Sowell was over his point is that if you make a business out of buying houses that business will ultimately fail. His point was that 90% of businesses fail so it is not good to go into business. My point was that you want to get rich so you have to go into business to get rich.

He is not wrong but I have to filter any comments I read from him.