Joe

Good Statistics, Bad Conclusion

Revisado: 11-10-04

The argument is thourough and compelling as it summarizes how much better off we are today for Western society, yet contradicts itself by noting how horrible it is for everyone else. The fact remains that everyone is better off today than 100 years ago with regard to material things. Whether that should be the standard is debateable. So everyone is better off, yet people are depressed. Easterbrook's solution involves telling people that they don't need all that money when people are starving. Although I agree there was criminal behavior from some top executives in the past decade, that doesn't support the argument that the extremely rich don't "need" certain things. It is like saying the author of this book doesn't need the money he gets from it. No one in America "needs" all they have. We are a society of excess- but we can produce some good from it. The good Easterbrook suggests is universal healthcare, minimum wage and other socialist programs, while, at the same time, he condems Fascism and Communism. This contradiction was too much for me- especially since he never supports his socialist ideas with any logic except for, "sure it may bring down the wealth of the very rich and make all of your consumer goods more expensive..." Doesn't he see that those socialist programs would hurt the people they're trying to benefit as well as everyone else? Try to follow this: Minimum wage goes up so that Jose can feed his 10 kids >> Price of McDonald's food goes up >> Demand for food goes up >> all food prices go up >> It's more expensive for Jose to feed his kids. That's a real simplistic overview of what would happen, but that is the case generally speaking. Easterbrook doesn't address this.

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