- “I have seen a lot of elections and I have never seen anything like this. It seems to me it is a testament to the complete collapse of education that people can have such preposterous policies as an end to free trade and think that’s going to help America. It’s just startling that: a) the candidates know so little and; b) that the voters have not been better informed about this. The American education system is in a state of freefall collapse so that certainly explains a lot,” he says.
. . .
"I’ll vote for him, by the way. I’ll vote for him because I think he does personify a kind of national pride which I think has been lacking in the Obama days and would be terribly lacking under Bernie Sanders and terribly lacking under Hillary Clinton. But I think his economics is way, way out of whack and he seriously needs some education about it."
I don't know how much Ben Stein actually knows about economics (way more than me obviously), but this whole interview was a bit interesting.
Oddly enough Trump's education is a bachelors degree in economics and not business. He went to Fordham for 2 years and then UPenn for 1.
Apparently a Columbia grad in economics and a Yale law school graduate. I'm not suggesting that this makes him the master of all things Econ... But it suggests he knows a bunch more than me.I don't know how much Ben Stein actually knows about economics (way more than me obviously), but this whole interview was a bit interesting.
All of the candidates are crap, Hilary is evil and wants to steal your rights, Trump though I like his idea to reduce taxes on the poor and middle clsss is also a tyrant, and Bernie sanders is an idiot who thinks because I'm white I don't know what it's likento grow up in poverty despite being homeless throughout various times of my childhood and wants to help further tax the middle class to death.
Let me summarize the article: A games how shost that wAs once a speechwriter for Nixon, eons ago, talks trash about all three condidates. Trump: uninformed but good for nationalism Hillary: informed but won't make people feel Nationalistic Sanders: willfully uninformed and crazy
Economists generally say nice things about Steins grasp of economic issues. He isn't a trade economist and from what I know from taking one trade economics class is that it seems like he is overstating the provable effects of trade on GDP but he's not ot of line with other bullish trade economists assessment of its value (like Jagdish Bhagwati). My view is probably distorted by the fact that the professor I knew best at university was a trade economist who hated speculation and did a lot of work on proving real gains from trade.