Interview with Dennis Paulaha
What is the Rubber Ducky Economics book?
It is a little book based on an epiphany. Not a real epiphany; an economic epiphany. It was actually a two-part revelation. The first was that, because we now have more economic numbers and facts than we know what to do with, it is time to base economic policies on economic facts, not economic models. The second was that by using a bathtub to explain the real economy, understanding the economy is as easy as watching a rubber ducky in a tub. Best of all, the book can be read in about an hour.
Who needs it?
Everyone who has to make business decisions, or investment decisions, or personal decisions that are affected by the economy; anyone who just wants to understand what is really going on in the world; anyone who wants to understand the newspaper or the nightly news.
Will it make me rich?
I don’t know. What I do know is that anyone who bases business, investment, or life decisions on political dogma has the cards stacked against them. So, even if I can’t make you rich, I can help you avoid terrible mistakes. How important is it to avoid mistakes? In some cases, avoiding mistakes is the difference between success and failure.
How can economics be non-political?
It can’t. Economics is always political, because economics is always used or misused by politicians and political hucksters. However, economic facts are non-partisan, unless explaining the truth is considered to be partisan.
How easy is it to understand the economy?
Anyone who knows how to fill a bathtub can understand the economy.