Study: 8 In 10 Lawmakers Lack Education In Economics…
And it was Obama who claimed “professional politicians” were the ones who could understand the debt crisis and not the general public.
(Politico) — Almost 80 percent of lawmakers might need to crack open an economics textbook before the congressional recess ends, a new study on Tuesday suggests.
The vast majority of members lack an academic background in business or economics, according to a study by the Employment Policies Institute, a non-profit group that takes a conservative stand on fiscal issues. Just 13.7 percent majored in business or accounting, and 8.4 percent have an economics degree.
“How many members of Congress have an academic background that provided them with a basic understanding how the economy works? The answer, it turns out, is not many,” the report concluded.
On the Senate budget committee, five out of 23 members — about 20 percent — have a business/accounting or econ background, EPI research fellow Michael Saltsman told POLITICO.
Posted by ZIP on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, at 6:55 pm | 
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A study that never needed to be done. As in study finds water is wet. Hello Captain obvious. 80% of congress couldn’t get a security clearance either.
They also need an islam for dummies primer, not the “cleaned up” version either.
And a good number of congress members should be in prison as well.
Oh yeah, bet most of the Ds can recite Rules for Radicals. Backwards.
Isn’t that danged interesting – denial of that fact is what spawned the Tea Party. Deal with it D.C. – we all know and embrace the fact you’re mathmatically challenged. Proven without a shadow of doubt.
Shocking I tell you…and you actually had to research it to find out?? How about looking at the fact that EVERYTHING they touch turns to crap!
Yet the vast majority of them have JD’s…go figure.
@ Rocketman —
“80% of congress couldn’t get a security clearance either.”
Exactly…. The sad fact is that Hussein couldn’t even get security clearance to work as a SS agent! EVER!
He couldn’t even get cleared to a position to protect his sorry arse!
Sweet Jesus preaching on a sunny hill top, I just had a Contessa Brewer flashback…
I need a beer.
How much of our money did they spend to figure this krapp out? Hmmmmmmm
@ Sickofislam
Your nick says it all. I am so sick of this MF’er I have blood coming out of my eyes… I see not so pretty things in the near future for our country and feel powerless to stop it. I better stop there beofre I say something that will get me in trouble.
this is not surprising. 99% of them are lawyers. lawyers only know 1 thing and that’s how to argue.
“Economics in One Lesson” – an easily digestible BIBLE of economics even a US Federal legislator can absorb. Hell, I did it at the age of 22 with only a high school education.
Bottom line: YOUR DEBITS GOTTA EQUAL YOUR CREDITS, stupid!
SHEESH!!!
‘UNEXPECTED LACK OF ECONOMIC UNDRSTANDING!’
Yup,
Another Bloomberg Headline
I know that economics is part of the curriculum for an MBA and particularly in combination with a JD. At the very least, economics should have been part of their undergrad studies. I find it difficult to believe that a majority didn’t take an econ course.
Those who did take econ and are die-hard Obamanites should take their diplomas back for a refund or maybe they slept through their classes.
I’m more inclined to think they don’t care about basic economics and are just looking out for number one.
As a retired economics professor such comes as no great surprise. I wonder what the ratio is among newscasters who nightly repeal the laws of supply and demand.
I don’t think all of our reps need to be experts in everything, but they do have to have the common sense to consult experts in any field they are legislating. Unfortunately, they seem to think Al Sharpton and Jon Stewart qualify as experts to consult.
The imperial CONgress needs lessons on the meaning of the constitution and not on UN charters
Nothing new here. Politicians have degrees in; Shiftyness 201; Scamalicious 107; Douchebaggery 101; Pickpocket 1; Liaronomics 401 (graduate level).
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Rebuild the American spirit!
Perhaps a new primer text could be written for politicians. Try to stay away from polysyllabic words and numbers over 21. The name would be “Economics for the Uninformed”
I believe Michele Bachmann has a degree in economics and is not a lawyer, that doesn’t mean I love her, just sayn.
The Keynesians had their chance.
They controlled the Presidency and both houses of Congress.
A Keynesian runs the Federal Reserve.
They implemented everything they proposed.
The $862 billion porkulus program, the $700 billion TARP program, home buyer tax credits, energy efficiency credits, loan modification programs, zero interest rates, QE1 and QE2.
They increased social welfare transfers for Social Security, Unemployment Compensation, food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans by $600 billion since 2007, a 35% increase in four years. No one has foiled their plans.
The Tea Party didn’t really exist until 2010.
They didn’t lose the House until November 2010.
They cannot blame the Tea Party extremists, but they do.
The Keynesians have successfully increased Federal spending by $1.1 trillion, or 41% since 2007, and are running deficits exceeding 10% of GDP, but they call the Tea Party extremists.
Domestic investment is still 9% below 2008 levels as the Federal government has crowded out the small businesses that create the jobs in this country.
And now the Keynesians declare we need more stimulus, more programs, more debt, more quantitative easing and lower interest rates. It just wasn’t enough the first time.
None of the Keynesian solutions worked during this crisis, just as they didn’t work during the Great Depression.
The solution was simple, yet painful.
The banking system needed to be saved, not the banks.
The bad debt needed to be purged from the system.
Wall Street criminals needed to be prosecuted.
Bondholders and stockholders needed bear the losses from their foolish investments.
Saving and investment in the country needed to be encouraged, while borrowing and consuming needed to be discouraged.
Our leaders have failed to lead.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-keynesian-solutions-after-total-failure-try-try-again
@Rob
Right on to that!!! Citizens need to be held accountable for stupid mistakes – NO MORE free shit!!!
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Rebuild the American spirit!
To be honest, if they cracked a modern day textbook in economics, they still wouldn’t learn much, because most modern day economics is ‘how the government can control the economy’.
If Felonius Monk gets economics, then he expects “B” to, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tRmZ9zH-mYM
There was a time when lawyers actually had some economic sense…
about 200 years ago, when the law was more than just winning your case and making millions chasing ambulances.
“All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation.”
–John Adams