Blog 7

I would first like to start by saying I have never taken an economics class, even in high school. So, I've only ever had a vague sense of what exactly economics entail. I felt like this book did a good job introducing this confusing topic and making it so I could understand the history and various factors that have influenced our economy today. Because the truth is we cannot learn about economics without learning about the human factors and history of how our current global market came to be. Maybe that's why traditional econ courses have never interested me, because I was always under the assumption they involved lots of math (which I detest) and memorizing different theories of market systems (which sounds like a very boring topic to learn about).

My favorite part of the book was Chapter 7 onward. Growing up, I've always heard the term "Reaganomics" and the idea of trickle down wealth. From my own research on the topic, I knew this was not a feasible economic plan but that Republicans tended to support it. Goodwin explained the history of this movement as well as linked it to some of the financial difficulties we still observe today in our economy. I tend to find modern politics interesting because many of the policies and political strife we encounter in 2018 can be traced back to origins in the 1970s-80s. This is why Chapter 7 and onward was the most enjoyable to me. While the previous portions were interesting and taught me the basic groundwork of economic thought, the modern period is what is effecting me personally right now in time. Although, I do wish Goodwin would have dedicated a portion of his book to looking at the student loan problem. This is a topic intimately linked to previous economic decisions made in the last 20 years and I believe his book is used frequently on college reading lists so the audience would definitely have been appreciative for the addition.