Phanie

“We humans like a dichotomy; we're fans of a binary choice. It keeps things tidy. Deep down, we know the world is more complex. But it's much harder to visualize the three0dimensional matrix that truly incorporates all the choices and variables that shape our lives.”
― Liam Dann, BBQ Economics: How money works and why it matters

“The great thing about economics is that everyone can have an opinion. There are plenty of facts. But it's a science that is never quite settled. Unlike hard sciences, which can run countless lab-controlled experiments, economics is mostly theory. We only get to observe economic experiments once, in real time, as our choices play out. We never get to see the counterfactual — the alternative outcomes that might have been possible with small tweaks or different policy approaches.”
― Liam Dann, BBQ Economics: How money works and why it matters

“When economic growth slows, governments can legislate for higher minimum wages, or central banks cut interest rates to boost the amount of money in circulation, and, as we've covered earlier, these measures can inflate GDP growth. But inflation doesn't make anybody richer. We don't collectively get any wealthier in real terms unless we work harder or work smarter and produce more stuff.”
― Liam Dann, BBQ Economics: How money works and why it matters

“Deflation means the value of a dollar is rising too fast instead of failing. It effectively means the price of things is going down. Of course, the idea that failing prices are a bad thing seems counterintuitive. But the problem is that when people expect prices to fall, this can create a recessionary spiral.”
― Liam Dann, BBQ Economics: How money works and why it matters