Column: Where We Got Economics Wrong

This story was written by Asher Griffin, Daily O'Collegian

With banks crashing everywhere, stocks plummeting, your Visa bill reaching new heights because of gas prices and house prices continuing to stall, you have to think, "What in the world happened?"

Rest assured, campus, nobody knows whats happening. And if you find an economist who tells you they know why things appear to be in the tank, know that youve just found the new Sinbad.

Boones oil speculations, economists growth charts or our beloved governments regulations wont save our economy they never did. For some reason, Americans believe that the economy means Wall Street or taxes. Thats like saying baseball is defined and driven by Alex Rodriguezs on-base percentage or Fenway Parks average daily attendance. Baseball, of course, is about hitting, throwing, fielding and scoring.

So, where did we get the economy wrong? Probably by thinking that the economy is everything but making, selling, buying and saving things that people care about.

For about three weeks now, many Republicans thought they might have found the female version of Ronald Reagan. But it looks like all John McCain found was an aggressive mother who comes from a state that is literally built off of subsidies, earmarks and oil deposits. Is she smart? Probably. Is she aware? I bet shes read Wikipedia as much as we have.

Is Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin the kind of leader who has experience in becoming McCains No. 2? Her fiscal policy in Alaska has basically been selling the former governors jet, jacking up taxes on American oil companies and dispersing government revenues (paid by American oil companies) in a way that would make Hugo Chvez jubilant.

When it comes to the economy, not even Washington or large banks can figure things out.

So who are we to think that the fiscally socialist governor from Alaska will add grace and miracles to the equation? If youre a Republican like I am, you cant just blindly applaud someone because she owns a gun and has a son in the military.

Is our economy so unstable that anyone with enough fame can directly influence the market place?

By voting for someone to be president, am I increasing or decreasing my next paycheck?

We need to realize that the economy will take care of itself (unless we add more regulation) and note that Palin is another ordinary politician.