For the average person not schooled in economics, there is little understanding of the importance of the basics. Many of the proposals we hear today amount to killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. Too many people and leaders simply fail to understand the implications of what they propose. They seem clueless about how America became a rich and prosperous country in the first place.

For most of human history, economic systems offered limited hope for people to improve their lives. Society was ruled by autocrats, dictators, kings, or brute force. Those in power dictated the rules and generally prospered by taking from others. The only law was what the rulers themselves dictated. Most people existed to serve those in power, with no incentive or opportunity to grow, create, or prosper on their own.

Then came a remarkable shift in human history. The Industrial Revolution arrived, accompanied by the ideas of John Locke, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, and others. Democracy, modern technology, civil law, and free market principles began to take root. For perhaps the first time on a broad scale, societies discovered that prosperity no longer depended on taking wealth from someone else. Wealth could be created. More people could prosper together.

Good economic policy led to growth and prosperity for the masses. Poverty declined remarkably during this period. The expansion of freedom, property ownership and a market economy produced the highest standard of living........

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