Economics...

One of the things I oberserved working as a legislative aide this session was the lack of economic understanding--across the board from both Democrats and Republicans. This is concerning to me since having a strong economy is about a fundamental as it gets to what government should focus on.

I was studying for my economics class today and I came across this statement...

The measure that economists really care about is not money but people's happiness or welfare.

I was caught off gaurd because I realized that a lot of the focus in the media is on money.

Much of the Republican parties message and agenda is on money ("money in your pocket", "its your money"...) and it has always seemed off putting. Now I have a better frame of reference. Money isn't the issue, the issue is people's welfare and happines. When money is the focus the bigger picture is missed. This either speaks to a misconception of what economics is all about or an attempt to get off the subject of citizens quality of life; i'm not sure which.. or maybe its a little of both depending on the situation.

I also think part of this is in the media not doing its job.