Angela Scharf, Introduction, Q.2

In this first reading of Naked Economics, Charles Wheelan immediately stresses the importants of learning basic economics. He rather humorously gives the example of the candidacy Ross Perot's argument where Perot passionately voices his views pertaining to the North American Free Trade Agreement, although concluding to be embarrassingly invalid. What's even more embarrassing however is the fact that the majority of voters wouldn't have even noticed the mistake because of lack in economic background. Wheelan encourages the education of economics because it does indeed affect our daily lives regarding job creation (the creation of millions of internet-related jobs that didn't exist in the 1980s),  opportunity costs and blind costs (buying an SUV but not weighing the excess costs such as air pollution and the urban sprawl), and spending and markets in general (pertaining to the housing market and "hot potato" with morgage brokers and loans). Wheelan simply states that economics is as essential as gravity. These issues affect us both directly and indirectly, on a daily basis and in our lives generally. The decisions that are made presently will either reward us in the future or play part in our downfall.