The Assault on the American Economy: a Dearth of Education

Why isn't economics taught in high schools any more? It seems from the news about protesters and government regulations running amok and the vilification of business, casting the capital system as the villain in the income inequality wars, that no one understands the basic rules of economics: first, that companies create jobs and employ workers; second, that workers and companies pay taxes to the government; and third, the government needs taxes in order to provide for the common good, as required by our Constitution. It seems logical to assume that the more companies there are and the more jobs there are,then the more tax revenue the government receives, especially if companies are allowed to grow unchained by so many crushing rules and regulations that only the largest can afford to survive. If we want companies to remain in the US, we have to give them incentive to do so. Why is "profitability" such a dirty word in politics?  The screamers in this country are beginning to sound more and more like members of the Proletariat of the Communist Era. This is truly frightening, and our government seems to be either the perpetrator or a willing participant in this delusion. In a truly free-market society, wealth is not finite, and anyone can create wealth, given the tools and incentive to do so. Anyone who has studied economics knows that the Free-Market System of Capitalism has lifted more people out of poverty and created more wealth for more people than any other economic or political system in the history of the world. It may not be perfect, but financially it is way ahead of whatever is in second place. In a truly free-market environment, anyone can have a local tag sale and not have to pay the city for a permit to do it; the kids running their lemonade stand don't have to notify the Department of Public Health before they open; and the farmer who just wants to sell his home-grown vegetables and fruits to the poor people in the city doesn't have to worry about being fined or jailed because his vegetable cart is not allowed on city streets. Income Inequality is a false argument, as the discussion should be about how much a given JOB is worth, not how much a worker is worth. Any job that requires little or no skill should be worth an amount of pay relative to the number of people who could perform that job. The more skills and/or education and/or experience a job requires, the fewer people there are to perform them, and therefore the higher the pay should be. In the simplest of terms, this is how the system should work, and as people develop more skills, education or experience, they should be able to move into higher-paying jobs. Of course, in a real economics class, this lesson would be the first minute of the first day of a semester- or year-long course, as there really is much more to the subject, but perhaps you get the idea. For the record, I live in Connecticut, which by all financial measures is one of the worst-run states in the country, with a deficit presently in the tens of millions and growing rapidly.  Companies are leaving regularly, including high-profile ones like GE and Pfizer, leading to less revenue for the state, more people left behind and on unemployment, creating more expense for the same state that is losing jobs because of all the regulations meant, ironically, to "protect" the workers from the big, bad businesses. Where is the logic in this?