One of the most influential and 
popular economists and common-sense economic writers of the 20th and 21st centuries is Thomas Sowell. He recently retired from writing at the age of 86 and we will all be the less informed because of it. He certainly earned a retirement from writing and I wish him well on his personal journey to enjoy his remaining years.
He started as a Marxist, with a degree from Harvard, master’s from Columbia and doctorate from the University of Chicago. During his doctorate time, he met the remarkable Milton Friedman, a professor of economics at the U of C. What he learned from Mr. Friedman proved to move him from his Marxist ideas and subsequent employment as an economic analyst at the U.S. Dept. of Labor opened his eyes.
In 1959, while working in the U.S. Public Health Service in Washington, a man had a heart attack around 5 p.m. on the sidewalk outside the building. He was taken to a nurse’s room, where he was asked if he was a government employee. If he were, he would have been eligible to be taken to a medical facility there. He wasn’t, so he was sent to a local hospital by ambulance. The man died during the rush hour traffic.
Sowell commented on the experience “He died waiting for a doctor, in a building full of doctors. Nothing so dramatized for me the nature of a bureaucracy and its emphasis on procedures rather than results.”
If you really want to have a basic understanding of economics, no college course beats reading Sowell’s “Basic Economics.” His books are clear and well researched. And he has real zingers in his books skewering academics — “The next time some academics tell you how important diversity is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department.”
His ability to take something considered complicated and stripped to its bare essence in words, consider this, “Our tax system penalizes those who are producing wealth in order to subsidize those who are only consuming it.” Succinct, direct, between the eyes writing – outstanding!
A sampling of his wisdom and economic sense:
- “If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten you labeled a radical 60 years ago, a liberal 30 years ago and a racist today.”
- “Immigration laws are the only laws that are discussed in terms of how people who break them.”
- “Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.”
- “The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best.”
- “The biggest and most deadly “tax” rate on the poor comes from a loss of various welfare state benefits – food stamps, housing subsidies and the like – if their income goes up.”
- “The real minimum wage is zero.”
- “In liberal logic, if life is unfair then the answer is to turn more tax money over to politicians, to spend in ways that will increase their chances of getting re-elected.”
- “Elections should be held on April 16th – the day after we pay our income taxes. That is one of the few things that might discourage politicians from being big spenders.”
If you ever want to watch intelligence in action, view any YouTube of Mr. Sowell. You will be entertained and in awe of use of the English language, reason, and common sense employed in dismantling ignorance and liberalism. They don’t stand a chance with Mr. Sowell. He is hard on any political stripe (Democrats, Republicans, and Independents) when they act like idiots.
Mr. Sowell, good luck in retirement years – you’ve certainly earned it. We will miss you immensely.
