Essential Economics 101 * Ray Dalio on how the economy actually works
I am constantly amazed at the differences in how different people can view and interpret the same experiences or facts. Clearly, as humans we tend to fit the available facts into our belief systems. Nowhere is is more apparent than Washington politics and an understanding of the economy and how it works. Conservatives have one operating model and set of beliefs and the left has their own. The facts are economists have some fairly good basic principles that are very consistent.
1. You get less of what you tax
2. You can overspend in the short term, but in the long run, even governments run out of runway
3. Bubbles happen, they will keep happening.
4. Risk and reward drives everything.
5. And the list could go on and on
I am certainly not qualified to debate these principles in theory from an economic perspective. However, I CAN say that I have seen these principles work and work consistently over and over again. I’m not saying they are good or bad, they just ARE.
One of the best resources I have found lately is Ray Dalio’s simple but not simplistic animation on how the economy works. This video is well worth your time of 30 minutes to watch and learn. He does a beautiful job of describing the economy as a machine.
In case you don’t know who Ray Dalio is, he’s just one of the most consistent and most successful investors in US history. Google him.
