About halfway through Naked Economics

So far I highly recommend the book.  The author (Charles Wheelan) mainly agrees with me so he must be a genius.  Some minor disagreements, I think he is a little off on what drives health care costs, I think defensive medicine accounts for more of it that he seems to, a couple other things like that.  The author does seem to endorse my view of the Laffer Curve (i.e. That most conservatives misinterpret it as saying less taxes all always better, but that isn’t what it says at all).  In any case the book is easy to read and is actually pretty entertaining as well as informative.  The chapter on asymmetrical information also reinforces my views on government regulation.

Read Charles Wheelan’s Economics Laundry List (found via Greg Mankiw’s Blog)

Some discussion of the book from a class where it was used as a textbook, and from a lawyer

As I look around more it turns out Wheelan is running for Congress.  Here is his platform:

Economic stimulus that includes government spending should be carefully designed to ensure that only projects that have social value are funded. Infrastructure projects, identified by an objective panel, that likely would have been pursued without special funds are good candidates. If there are insufficient projects meeting a high cost-benefit threshold, additional stimulus should come in the form of tax cuts.

Any mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States should be pursued through market mechanisms that raise revenue, which can be used to reduce the personal, corporate and/or payroll tax.

The U.S. should make long-term investments in human capital, particularly in early childhood education for low-income and disadvantaged children.

Congress should promote free trade and work to reduce trade barriers around the globe. The best way to deal with the political costs of trade and the economic dislocation caused by international competition is to create a meaningful safety net for displaced workers.

Tax reform is necessary to improve the equity, efficiency and simplicity of the tax code. A priority of tax reform should be a reduction in the number of special incentives that narrow the tax base, induce tax avoidance and increase compliance costs.

The U.S. must deal with the looming fiscal obligations created by our entitlement programs: Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Our current economic situation justifies increased deficits now, but today's policy must be attentive to the need for fiscal balance over the next several decades.

I would say that I agree with about 66% of his platform.  I’m not sure more economic stimulus is needed, but if that is the case then infrastructure is definitely the way to go.

The same with his position on greenhouse gases.  I’m not sure that the action is required but if so his plan is the best option.

I definitely agree with the need for human capital development (although I think studies have shown early childhood education to be largely ineffective especially compared to more school hours and longer school years)

The other two pieces I think stand on their own.