Conventional Wisdom versus The Data

 

The following are questions to which many people believe they know the answers. We call the answers “conventional wisdom” because the answers are repeated so frequently that people come to believe them to be correct despite never having seen evidence for or against.

 

In each of the following cases, you will see evidence relevant to the questions.

 

 

 

Trade and Immigration

 

What countries supply the most oil to the U.S.?

 

Do immigrants take jobs from Americans?

 

How many jobs does America outsource to foreigners?

 

Are immigrants a drain on Social Security?

 

Does trade help or hurt American jobs?

 

 

 

Prices, Wages, and Standards of Living

 

Are we worse off than our parents?

 

Are the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer?

 

Is gas more expensive now than in the past?

 

Do males earn more than females and, if so, why?

 

Why is a college education so expensive?

 

 

 

Government and Society

 

Can we balance the budget by raising taxes?

 

What is the effect of the minimum wage on unemployment?

 

Who spends the most on lobbying and political donations?

 

What happens if Social Security is privatized?

 

Can one measure the value of a life?

 

What does the rising cost of health care buy us?

 

How many people are uninsured?

 

How much is $1 trillion?

 

Can the government spend us out of recession?

 

How has the economy performed under different Presidents?

 

 

 

Corporations and Banks

 

Are a lot of U.S. banks going bankrupt?

 

Who wields more economic power: corporations or workers?

 

Are oil companies making monopoly profits?

 

Which industries have been gaining jobs and which have been losing jobs?

 

 

 

The Environment

 

Can property rights be used as a tool for conservation?

 

Does man-made CO2 have an effect on global temperatures?

 

Is global warming real?

 

Of what am I most likely to die?

 

 

 

 

Other

 

What do people want to do all day?

 

How much pie have you eaten?

 

What is the intersection of large, happy, and verdant?

 

People who know rules of Fight Club

 

Capitalism and Socialism