At the end of 2008, government leaders and most professional
economists were looking at each other and asking, "How did we miss
this?" and "Why didn't we see it coming?" Indeed, why didn't they?
Our answer to their question is-Stupidomics. Those asking these
questions aided and abetted those who drove our economy to the
brink of disaster. Words like hubris, myopia, folly, egoism, and
pridefulness come to mind when we think about these noble
custodians of America's economic wellbeing. While our august
leaders were blind to impending economic danger, we saw it coming.
To be honest, we weren't sure when the economy would crash, and we
didn't know how far it would fall. But, by using the simple
circular flow concepts presented in this book, we were confident
that a significant adjustment couldn't be avoided. Because of this
conviction, in 2007 we made adjustments that protected our
financial assets. What we present in this book isn't rocket
science. We simply cover basic economic principles in a way that
can be understood by non-macroeconomics minded Americans. But our
message is important, and the concepts we explore work.
Understanding fundamental economic concepts is essential, because
economic decisions are imbedded in our jobs, how we spend our
money, how our government spends our money, and how international
trade impacts our nation. Indeed, economics is a primary decision
factor when we vote in local and national elections. No matter how
much we try, we can't escape the basic laws of economics-they are a
daily fact of life. It is this lack of economic understanding that
motivated the title of our book--Stupidomics. The title is not
meant to imply that Americans are stupid. Rather, we mean that
Americans are not well schooled in the basic tenants of our
economic system. As we see things, Stupidomics was a contributing
cause of the financial institution crisis of 2008. But the 2008
financial institution crisis is not the first one in U.S. economic
history. It is, however, the first one to take place in the 21st
Century. In recent times, the U.S. economy experienced a savings
and loan crisis in the 1980s which resulted in over 700 failed
institutions and cost U.S. taxpayers about $125 billion ($240
billion in current dollars). The repeated trouble within the
financial institution industry is a perfect example of what Bok is
referring to. The inability to learn from prior mistakes is an
aspect of Stupidomics. The unresolved economic sins of the past
contributed to the 2008 financial institution crisis and its mind
numbing price tag of $700 billion and counting. In this book, we
are not seeking to explain all of the theoretical concepts
presented in a macroeconomics textbook. Some are too quantitative
and others are too arcane to be useful to an understanding of
fundamental economic principles. Rather, we seek to present a few
basic concepts that will help readers understand how the U.S.
economy grows, how sacrifice today can create a more robust economy
for our children and grandchildren, and why further tax decreases,
while tempting, are unwise. Our book also shows how the U.S.
economy got so far out of balance that we are experiencing what
most economists are calling the worst financial crisis since the
Great Depression.
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