I think that at least half the rhetoric of politicians, especially in the election year, would have to disappear into thin air if people started asking, what will be the actual consequence of this? Well, it's an interesting thing as to why people don't ask it more. Part of it's a lack of understanding market forces and the consequences that economists see fairly easily or sometimes hard to see for people who are not trained in economics. I mean, I've been recently reading John Dewey, a renowned philosopher, and yet he's talking about how under capitalism there's this artificial scarcity. And we need to change the institutions you see to deal with that.
Thomas Sowell of Stanford University's Hoover Institution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in his new book, Economic Facts and Fallacies. He discusses the misleading nature of measured income inequality, CEO pay, why nations grow or stay poor, the role of intellectuals and experts in designing public policy, and immigration.