Wastefulness

I just sat through the last lecture for my "Economics in Public Policy" class this morning. All I can say is "Wow."

As a print journalism major, an economics class was something I had yet to experience at the beginning of this summer. Now, I can honestly say that my world has been changed -- for the better.

Let me brag for just a second: my teacher is a professor at George Mason, a school known for its economics program. And might I add, he's a distinguished man in his field.

Needless to say, I've learned a ton about economics. I've also learned a ton about economics in public policy (you'd expect that, since it's the title of the course).

But I say it's changed my world -- not only how I view the world outside myself -- because I have started looking at things I do from an economic perspective.

I started thinking about my schedule: does that time I spend doing this or that yield the most gain? What's the opportunity cost of choosing this option versus that one? Is it efficient for me to research this issue, or should I opt for rational ignorance in this case or that?

These questions and more have put my life in new perspective.


Economics has opened up a whole new world for me. Sure, I'm a hopeless romantic, but it's true -- I promise I'm not exaggerating.

I can look at things in my life -- not just public policy -- from the viewpoint of economics. I hope that it'll change my life for the better, because I'm positive it has changed.

To sum everything up, I'll share a quote my professor began the class with (I'm not positive it's verbatim or that I spelled the person's name correctly, so forgive me):

"We can see the greatest miracles are before our very eyes, if we take the time to notice them."

-Frédéric Bastiat, economist among other things