Economics 101

So, I create a study that looks at the effects of the sale of umbrellas and rainfall. Wow, my study finds a high correlation between the sale of umbrellas and rain coming down!!! Buying umbrellas makes it rain, right?? No.

Just like "being a member of Oprah's book club" doesn't make you vote for Sen. Obama. People that are more likely to be members of Oprah's book club, were also more likely to be Obama supporters. The study itself doesn't include correlativity data, probably for this very reason.

Economics

Most people who come from an Economics background, like I do, are very pro-trade, etc. My economics lessons were always tempered by one International Trade Professor who stated: "Never forget, that while we benefit from free trade, every union worker who loses their job loses $100,000 of lifetime income."

It's so easy to forget that these are real people, and not just dots on a graph and I'm happy to see the Democrats listen to the real people.