Despite the fact that best-selling economics text books fail to get across, so that it sticks, that price controls cause shortages. Despite the fact that all best-selling economic text books fail to discuss the structural distortions Fed money printing causes, even when there is no price inflation. Econ textbook writers seem to be as fearless as they are clueless, and it appears that they now all pontificate on global warming.
Most are discussing global warming theory, as though it is near fact. How do I know this?
Yoram Bauman has given Mankiw and Krugman's econ textbooks "A" grades for their coverage of "Climate Change", and presumably becasue they both call for, you guessed, higher taxes to fight climate chnage.
Mankiw wants the federal tax on gasoline to go up from its current level of 40 cents to $2.10. Krugman appears to favor carbon taxes, but does not follow Mankiw in naming a specific rate.
The only textbook to receive an "F" was Economics: Private and Public Choice by Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel and Macpherson, which suggests the "Climate Change" discussion in the book is at least half way decent. And, indeed, Bauman has this quote from their text:
The billions of dollars going into global warming research give scientists an incentive to maintain climate change as a public issue. "As [MIT climatologist Richard] Lindzen puts it. "Alarm is felt to be essential to the maintenance of funding..."
"F" for Fails To Transmit Propaganda Effectively
ReplyDeleteHave already given dear Mr. Bauman, ahem, "feedback" regarding his review. He links the Cato study, but conveniently ignores:
ReplyDelete"While it is common knowledge in the climate science community, the public is generally unaware that there has been no net change in the earth’s average surface temperature in the last 11 years, as shown in the IPCC history (see Figure 45.2)."
Thx for posting this piece, Bob.
1. It looks like Prof. Stroup hangs out with Robert Higgs.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=318
The horror!
2. I thought Murray Rothbard was the first stand-up economist.
3. How come the Keynesians are still calling for "the printing money" by "The Ben Bernank" when it clearly induces sprawl and the cutting down of carbon eating trees? Perhaps because like GW regulation and TSA feel-ups, it promotes technocratic bossing of the rabble?
To read a chapter of Bauman's horrible Cartoon Economics, click on the comic book cover below the EXCERPTS heading:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.standupeconomist.com/books/cartoon-introduction-to-economics/