Interacting with others on a daily basis and glancing at a few headlines every now and again will most likely give the average person the impression that the sky is falling or will begin to fall very shortly. This is what George Mason University economist Bryan Caplan refers to as “pessimistic bias.” People have a tendency, upon little to no evidence, believe things are bad and are only getting worse. Nowhere is this more true than in the average person’s evaluation of the economy. According to Joe Sixpack, the economy is tanking and will most likely collapse in financial ruin before he can get in bed tonight. Bureaucrats and big government socialists love this negativity as it gives them “legitimate” reason to intervene, regulate, and tax. After all, if the economy is not tanking, the Keynesians have no reason to tinker do they? David Harsanyi of the Denver Post is no fool. His latest article dispels the current pessimistic fad with a little historical perspective and economic sensibility.
