Congress and Economics

Nowhere in the U.S., I think, is there so little comprehension of business and economics as in the Congress. It would be difficult to discover, anywhere in the history of that organization, a time when they interfered in business practice without directly and adversely affecting the U.S. economy.

And yet they persist.

Now clearly, such things as a windfall profits tax are an easy sell to the cheap seats, the 50% of U.S. taxpayers who pay little or no income tax. These folks, after all, are unlikely to appreciate the immediate negative results of a tax on goods or services, nor will they quickly tumble to the fact that it will hit them harder than most. And they'll vote for the crusaders in Washington, again and again.

It would be wonderful if these folks were to read Economic in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt, which after nearly 60 years, remains as clear and understandable a lesson as any I've read. Or perhaps Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy, which is more topical, and while a good deal longer, is an easy read.

Either way, the wool could not again easily be pulled over their eyes.