American Thinker: Leaving Corporate America

American Thinker: Leaving Corporate America: "We are at the mercy of economic 'experts.' These practitioners of the 'dismal science' are managing large sectors of our economy in accordance with theories learned in Ivy League Universities. They have assured us that the lessons learned from the Great Depression will prevent another such occurrence.

The problem is that every forecast by an economic expert can be matched by an equal and opposite forecast. Often these conflicting forecasts are made by the same individual. Economist Howard S. Katz provides an explanation for this situation in his book, The Paper Aristocracy: 'Modern economics claims to be a science. This is a sham and a fraud.' Katz bases this conclusion on his observation that '[w]hen it fails to predict future events it does not act like the scientist, disregarding false theories in search of the truth; it acts like the Indian Medicine Man who has failed to make rain. It equivocates, rationalizes and tries to make minor adjustments.' Unlike an Indian medicine man, an influential economist might not only be unable to bring rain, but he may also cause drought.

The State of New York provides an example of the disastrous effects of an economic policy. When Governor Paterson, a politician with a long tax-and-spend record, came into office, he declared that taxes were too high. Paterson stated, 'We will rue the day that we tax the rich, if the rich, who are the job-creators in New York, stop doing it, and then people are leaving to find jobs in other states.' Yet Paterson signed a budget which included 6.1 billion dollars in projected new taxes and fees. Paterson seemed to realize the folly of his action, stating, 'None of this makes sense.' Tax revenue from these increases was running 20 percent below projections. In a lucid moment, Paterson responded, 'Tax the rich, we've done that. We've probably lost jobs and driven people out of the state.'"