Report: 58% of Americans have inflated egos, are simpletons

[King]

link

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Do you truly believe that everyone who thinks he is smarter than Obama is a simpleton with an inflated ego?

[King]

Do you truly believe that everyone who thinks he is smarter than Obama is a simpleton with an inflated ego?

Most people who actually know things are too self-hating and humble to ever believe such a thing.  Most.  But if I said a number like 54%, then the joke would not be clear.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I bet 58% of people trust their own opinion on economic issues more than mine too.  Idiots.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     58% sounds like a very low estimate. I suspect that most people believe that they are blessed with expert knowledge far beyond what they actually have. I would suggest that the fact that 42% trust Obama over them on the economy is merely an indicator of a dangerous faith in the President rather than any actual humbleness for most of them.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Just 58% of the simpletons? Wow, situation isn't that tragic as we thought.

[phk]

    58% sounds like a very low estimate. I suspect that most people believe that they are blessed with expert knowledge far beyond what they actually have. I would suggest that the fact that 42% trust Obama over them on the economy is merely an indicator of a dangerous faith in the President rather than any actual humbleness for most of them.

This.

Tbh, he studied Political Science, not Econ/Finance.

[Nichlemn]

    58% sounds like a very low estimate. I suspect that most people believe that they are blessed with expert knowledge far beyond what they actually have. I would suggest that the fact that 42% trust Obama over them on the economy is merely an indicator of a dangerous faith in the President rather than any actual humbleness for most of them.

This.

Tbh, he studied Political Science, not Econ/Finance.

Still, he does have the counsel of many top economists. And only 29% of Americans have a bachelor's degree at all, let alone an economics degree.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Not surprising.  I'd be interested to see the demographics.

[King]

Still, he does have the counsel of many top economists. And only 29% of Americans have a bachelor's degree at all, let alone an economics degree.

This is more of what I was getting at.  Obama is no economist, but he has more economists in the room when he reaches a conclusion on an issue than 99.9999% of the 300 million Americans will ever encounter in their life.  When they say "we know more about the economy than Obama," they are invalidating the administration and people in it who have spent their entire lives studying the economy because of their belief in some random talking point--regardless of ideology.

I'm almost certain that if any American would be given the opportunity to be President for a year, their half-baked ideals would be mostly invalidated and disposed of after a few days of actually having to pay attention to details and the pressure of real decisions.

[Nichlemn]

Still, he does have the counsel of many top economists. And only 29% of Americans have a bachelor's degree at all, let alone an economics degree.

This is more of what I was getting at.  Obama is no economist, but he has more economists in the room when he reaches a conclusion on an issue than 99.9999% of the 300 million Americans will ever encounter in their life.  When they say "we know more about the economy than Obama," they are invalidating the administration and people in it who have spent their entire lives studying the economy because of their belief in some random talking point--regardless of ideology.

I'm almost certain that if any American would be given the opportunity to be President for a year, their half-baked ideals would be mostly invalidated and disposed of after a few days of actually having to pay attention to details and the pressure of real decisions.

I think there's a reasonable chance that if the question was worded differently, say ""If you were President, do you think you would make better decisions on economic policy than Obama would?", the numbers would be lower. People don't like saying that they don't trust their own judgment.

[Napoleon]

    58% sounds like a very low estimate. I suspect that most people believe that they are blessed with expert knowledge far beyond what they actually have. I would suggest that the fact that 42% trust Obama over them on the economy is merely an indicator of a dangerous faith in the President rather than any actual humbleness for most of them.

This.

Tbh, he studied Political Science, not Econ/Finance.

Still, he does have the counsel of many top economists. And only 29% of Americans have a bachelor's degree at all, let alone an economics degree.

That plus some Goldman Sachs executives ..

[Antonio the Sixth]

Just 58% of the simpletons? Wow, situation isn't that tragic as we thought.

[tpfkaw]

Do I trust my own judgment on the economy more than Leonid Brezhnev?  Of course I do, even though Leonid was no doubt surrounded by top economists who had spent their entire lives studying the economy.

[JewCon]

God damn us evil Americans for believing our opinions are right

[Associate Justice PiT]

Do I trust my own judgment on the economy more than Leonid Brezhnev?  Of course I do, even though Leonid was no doubt surrounded by top economists who had spent their entire lives studying the economy.

     I am suspicious of the notion that Brzehnev was surrounded by top economists. Recall that many academic disciplines in the USSR were bad jokes; just look at Lysenkoism. It is obvious that Soviet economists were forced to trot out pieces supporting the Marxist-Leninist line. If you want to write something that will support the official party line, then your research will inevitably be weaker since you would be drawing conclusions & then conducting the experiment, which is reversed from the proper process.

[tpfkaw]

Do I trust my own judgment on the economy more than Leonid Brezhnev?  Of course I do, even though Leonid was no doubt surrounded by top economists who had spent their entire lives studying the economy.

     I am suspicious of the notion that Brzehnev was surrounded by top economists. Recall that many academic disciplines in the USSR were bad jokes; just look at Lysenkoism. It is obvious that Soviet economists were forced to trot out pieces supporting the Marxist-Leninist line. If you want to write something that will support the official party line, then your research will inevitably be weaker since you would be drawing conclusions & then conducting the experiment, which is reversed from the proper process.

And all of Obama's economists are trotting out pieces supporting the official party line (one of his economists, whose name escapes me, wrote a piece a while ago in which she provided evidence that the New Deal had little effect on the Great Depression.  In the Obama admin she dutifully recycled all the "multiplier" gibberish).  Your point exactly?

[Associate Justice PiT]

Do I trust my own judgment on the economy more than Leonid Brezhnev?  Of course I do, even though Leonid was no doubt surrounded by top economists who had spent their entire lives studying the economy.

     I am suspicious of the notion that Brzehnev was surrounded by top economists. Recall that many academic disciplines in the USSR were bad jokes; just look at Lysenkoism. It is obvious that Soviet economists were forced to trot out pieces supporting the Marxist-Leninist line. If you want to write something that will support the official party line, then your research will inevitably be weaker since you would be drawing conclusions & then conducting the experiment, which is reversed from the proper process.

And all of Obama's economists are trotting out pieces supporting the official party line (one of his economists, whose name escapes me, wrote a piece a while ago in which she provided evidence that the New Deal had little effect on the Great Depression.  In the Obama admin she dutifully recycled all the "multiplier" gibberish).  Your point exactly?

     My point is that Brezhnev was not surrounded by what I would consider top economists, because his regime corrupted the integrity of their work. If you want to make the same case in regards to Obama then that's cool, though I would say there is a different mechanism at work here (selecting people who already agree with him rather than forcing everyone into agreeing with him).

[phk]

Do I trust my own judgment on the economy more than Leonid Brezhnev?  Of course I do, even though Leonid was no doubt surrounded by top economists who had spent their entire lives studying the economy.

     I am suspicious of the notion that Brzehnev was surrounded by top economists. Recall that many academic disciplines in the USSR were bad jokes; just look at Lysenkoism. It is obvious that Soviet economists were forced to trot out pieces supporting the Marxist-Leninist line. If you want to write something that will support the official party line, then your research will inevitably be weaker since you would be drawing conclusions & then conducting the experiment, which is reversed from the proper process.

And all of Obama's economists are trotting out pieces supporting the official party line (one of his economists, whose name escapes me, wrote a piece a while ago in which she provided evidence that the New Deal had little effect on the Great Depression.  In the Obama admin she dutifully recycled all the "multiplier" gibberish).  Your point exactly?

     My point is that Brezhnev was not surrounded by what I would consider top economists, because his regime corrupted the integrity of their work. If you want to make the same case in regards to Obama then that's cool, though I would say there is a different mechanism at work here (selecting people who already agree with him rather than forcing everyone into agreeing with him).

Christina Romer?

[tpfkaw]

Christina Romer?

Yes, thank you.

    My point is that Brezhnev was not surrounded by what I would consider top economists, because his regime corrupted the integrity of their work. If you want to make the same case in regards to Obama then that's cool, though I would say there is a different mechanism at work here (selecting people who already agree with him rather than forcing everyone into agreeing with him).

I'm fairly certain that Brezhnev's economists probably really and truly did believe what they were saying.

[phk]

Christina Romer?

Yes, thank you.

    My point is that Brezhnev was not surrounded by what I would consider top economists, because his regime corrupted the integrity of their work. If you want to make the same case in regards to Obama then that's cool, though I would say there is a different mechanism at work here (selecting people who already agree with him rather than forcing everyone into agreeing with him).

I'm fairly certain that Brezhnev's economists probably really and truly did believe what they were saying.

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/events/2009/0309_lessons/0309_lessons_romer.pdf

[Associate Justice PiT]

    My point is that Brezhnev was not surrounded by what I would consider top economists, because his regime corrupted the integrity of their work. If you want to make the same case in regards to Obama then that's cool, though I would say there is a different mechanism at work here (selecting people who already agree with him rather than forcing everyone into agreeing with him).

I'm fairly certain that Brezhnev's economists probably really and truly did believe what they were saying.

     I think many people would make themselves truly believe anything if the alternative were being sent to a gulag or being killed. Argumentum ad baculum is a powerful motivator, which is why dictatorships & other autocratic governments have been such a big problem in the course of human history. They wouldn't be nearly so dangerous if everyone felt free to oppose them, since they could never gain such hegemony if that were the case.

[Badger]

In fairness, "trusting" one's own "judgment" on economic decisions  than the President's isn't the same as saying "I know more about economics" than the President. Again, the key words are "trust" and "judgment".

I have little doubt Milton Friedman has more knowledge about economics than I do, but I doubt his judgement on such matters as ultimately even an expert's views (perhaps even especially an expert's) are colored by fundimental value choices and personal priorities of what a "perfect" economy entails.

I may not know as much about economics as Friedman, but I know enough to hold greater trust in other equally erudite experts like Paul Krugman and Robert Reich.

[Nichlemn]

In fairness, "trusting" one's own "judgment" on economic decisions  than the President's isn't the same as saying "I know more about economics" than the President. Again, the key words are "trust" and "judgment".

I have little doubt Milton Friedman has more knowledge about economics than I do, but I doubt his judgement on such matters as ultimately even an expert's views (perhaps even especially an expert's) are colored by fundimental value choices and personal priorities of what a "perfect" economy entails.

I may not know as much about economics as Friedman, but I know enough to hold greater trust in other equally erudite experts like Paul Krugman and Robert Reich.

I don't have any real issue with people with fundamentally different values trusting their own judgment more. However, at 58%, this includes people who voted for Obama (and so presumably are not too dissimiliar in values). Those people are the real "simpletons".

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

In fairness, "trusting" one's own "judgment" on economic decisions  than the President's isn't the same as saying "I know more about economics" than the President. Again, the key words are "trust" and "judgment".

I have little doubt Milton Friedman has more knowledge about economics than I do, but I doubt his judgement on such matters as ultimately even an expert's views (perhaps even especially an expert's) are colored by fundimental value choices and personal priorities of what a "perfect" economy entails.

I may not know as much about economics as Friedman, but I know enough to hold greater trust in other equally erudite experts like Paul Krugman and Robert Reich.

I don't have any real issue with people with fundamentally different values trusting their own judgment more. However, at 58%, this includes people who voted for Obama (and so presumably are not too dissimiliar in values). Those people are the real "simpletons".

well I voted for McCain, but I'd trust my own judgement on economics over his.