Ebook: Popular economics: what the Rolling Stones, Downton Abbey, and LeBron James can teach you about economics

"Tamny uses ... stories from sports, movies, popular culture, and famous businesses to explain the basic principles of economics. [With a conservative bent, he examines] how money really works--a lesson politicians try (and fail) to grasp every day"--;Taxes. Taxes are nothing more than a price placed on work ; When we tax companied, we rob them of their future ; Government spending did not create the Internet, and has never created a job ; It's the spending, stupid : budget deficits really don't matter ; Capital gains are the elusive jackpot that drive innovation ; The best way to spread the wealth around is to abolish the estate tax ; Wealth inequality is beautiful ; Savers are an economy's most valuable benefactors ; Job creation requires perpetual job destruction ; Bulldoze the Y.S. Tax Code -- Regulation. Appalachian State almost never beats Michigan, and government regulation almost never works ; Antitrust laws : the neutering of the near-term excellent ; Don't dismiss college dropouts delivering alternative weeklies -- Trade. "Trade deficits" are our rewards for going to work each day ; Comparative advantage : could LeBron James play in the NFL? ; "Outsourcing" is great for workers, and as old as the pencil ; "Energy independence" would be economically crippling, "global warming" is a crippling theory ; Free trade is the path to knowledge, liberty, world peace, and big raises -- Money. A floating foot, minute, and second would give you ugly houses, burnt wings, and slow NFL draft picks ; Do not be fooled by rising and falling computer, flat screen, and VHS prices : they are not an inflation or deflation signal ; True inflation is currency devaluation, and it is a cruel blast to the past ; If they tell you they predicted the "financial crisis," they're lying ; "Do-nothing" politicians deserve a special place in heaven.