Top Ten Ways To Sound Like An Economist

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to sound like an economist, please remember the following…and do send in your own suggestions.

New Top Ten Additions:

#1: Commenting on our 2% inflation, close to 3% growth, and 4% or so unemployment, just say it’s a Goldilocks economy.

Others

• To rationalize United’s overhead bin fee, point out that they are thinking at the margin.
• Knowing that the Dow has been rising during the Trump presidency, you can ask if it was correlation or causation.
• Referring to the 300% airplane tariff that Delta refused to pay, explain that no one likes a negative externality.
• When asked why we have done nothing about Social Security’s reserves running out in 2034, you can reply that Congress’s opportunity cost is too high.
• Or, as a last resort, you can always say, “On one hand…but on the other…”

The Original Top Ten List

1. Whatever the question, always answer, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
2. Defend a decision by declaring, “It was worth the opportunity cost.”
3. Whether you like or dislike government, point to, “The power of the market.”
4. Explain a love of low prices with, “It’s the law of demand.”
5. Explain high prices with, “It’s the law of supply.”
6. Preface a position with, “on the one hand…but on the other…”
7. Justify your Thai T-shirt, Japanese camera, and Sumatran coffee beans by repeating, “comparative advantage, comparative advantage…”
8. When asked, “How are we doing?” just cite the GDP, CPI, and S&P.
9. Know that the size of the pie has nothing to do with food.
10.  And finally, the most dependable way to “think economically” is to remember that, no matter what the topic, “It’s about the economy…”

2016 Additions

• Anytime your community refrigerator gets too messy, just say it’s the tragedy of the commons.
• Finding something cheap on Amazon that you sold for more elsewhere, you can explain that you had an arbitrage opportunity.
• Doing poorly in one class, you can say you have a comparative advantage elsewhere.
• Hanging up after 30 minutes of waiting for that Verizon rep, you can decide to ignore your sunk costs.
• Seeing how your monthly permit means you use the parking lot more than when you pay each day, just say the incentive was at the margin.
• Knowing that the Dow rose during the Obama presidency, you can ask if it was correlation or causation.

Here is one I got from Kevin Denny (Thank you!):

• To reject any inconvenient fact, “The econometric evidence is not clear on this.”