What is the GDP, and what does it mean? Why does the stock market go
down when interest rates go up? What causes a dreaded recession?
Economics impacts everyone's life, but most people take on faith what
they read in the newspaper. Now, for anyone who doesn't know much about
economics, noted economist Todd Buchholz explains it all simply and
clearly. With refreshing wit and irreverence, Buchholz takes listeners
by the hand and reveals the basic rules behind everything from food
prices to trade deficits. Instead of complicated graphs and charts he
uses examples from contemporary life and popular culture to demonstrate
the principles at work. By cutting through the arcane musings of
academicians, the jargon of analysts and advisors, and the rhetoric of
politicians, he gives us a precise and accessible understanding of
economic ideas, actions, and consequences as they actually exist in the
here and now.
Here are some of the heretofore unintelligible ideas he helps us to
understand: what causes or combats inflation, and why it is so feared;
what moves stocks and bonds up and down-and how to invest wisely and
safely; whether it is good or bad to "protect" America from foreign
goods-and what happens when we do and when we don't; what exactly Social
Security is, and whether government spending is good or bad-and how
dangerous the national debt is or isn't.
In today's confusing economic climate, it has never been more important
for everyone from homemakers to small-business owners to individual
investors and middle managers to understand the forces at work.
