Considering the stunning economic illiteracy I see not only on these boards but in daily life, I have to wonder-what do typical people (minglers for the purpose of this thread) read to gain an understanding of economics? Myself, I am fond of classics and modern economics. I like Hayek, Mises, Rothbard, Adam Smith, etc. I've even read people I disagree with, such as Marx and Keynes. So, what do you know?

My economics teacher was a BASTARD! His attitude was exactly like Dogbert. Something I learned is to not trust Gurus at all. they tell you what THEY want you to know becasue who wants to give up an edge.

Things like HOT STOCK TIPS are usually just marketing to sell stocks.

Another sad thing is not all investments are created alike. There is a saying, the greater the risk the greater the reward. That is the CORE of Asian Economics. unfortunately the risk of loss is SO Much higher. On average RISK investment yields 90% losers and 10% winners. In all reality more people loose fortunes on Stock markets then they gain.

Investment in America used to carry a guarantee of certainty and security but with deregulation there is no reason to prevent people from "blowing up" a front company, get people to invest, and declare Bankruptcy later on taking the money and running. Enron anyone????

Investment as we know it today is foolhardy and a waste of money. The return for your investment is pathetic usually.

People whine about manufacturing going to China. Well, frankly thanks to Overtaxation, Excessive fees, Stupid and Ill Concieved Environmental protection laws and standards, Labor Unions (get over yourselves Union fools!) driving the cost of labor way too high for a business to remain profitable and competitive these businesses turn to cost effective alternatives. If I can have shoes made cheaper in China than I pay for here and have them shipped here and STILL make money you bet I am going to do things that way. I am not in this to pay everyone's wages and not have something to show for MY efforts.

The state of American economics has degenerated into something that unregulated Capitalism winds up degenerating into and that is Greed Based Profiteering. Right now America operates by the "Squeeze them until they bleed" model of economics and that leads to great disasters like the one we are in now!

When I have the time I am going to spell out the big picture of Big Business and our Government and how they both played on this disaster and how fake our currency really is. I had a revelation recently and it bothered me becasue I now see the face of the puppet masters!

PS I did learn a LOT from my economics teacher!

Plenty, i did a degree in Economics. Not looked at one since though, i was glad to finish the degree and leave it all behind, it wasnt really for me. Seems so long ago now i can barely remember which ones.

I disagree that "unregulated Capitalism winds up degenerating into and that is Greed Based Profiteering." We've never experienced "unregulated capitalism" (generally an oxymoron, considering the self-regulating nature of laissez-faire captialism), so we cannot prove it empirically. Andy, you should read "Man, Economy, And State" by Rothbard ASAP.

Just my college books on Micro and Macro economics....

how familiar are you with Asian economic principles???

There's a variety of takes on econ in Asia, so you'll have to be more specific. I'm fond of Marc Faber, for one. The "developing markets" in Asia seem to show more promise than the US at the moment, as they're more and more adopting free market capitalism. My understanding is that the Shanghai markets are especially promising. Have you read "Bull In A China Shop" by Jim Rogers? He's keen on Asian capitalism as well.