Lies about pie

It seems like the presidential candidates have dredged up that old cliche' about pie.

John McCain (appropriately) pointed out that the junior senator from Illinois wants the government to have the final say as to who gets what size piece of the pie instead of trying to grow the pie.

Sidebar: I thought you BAKE a pie, not GROW a pie?!

Anyway, this tired-yet-valid analogy only serves as the latest example of the very poor job we have done in teaching economic theory and its impact on our nation's history.

Personally, I blame the Keynesians who have been free for far too long to perpetuate their bogus theories. Using the Great Depression as an example:

LIE #1
The Great Depression was triggered by risky Wall Street speculation that led to a stock market collapse.

TRUTH #1
The Great Depression was caused by the federal government's systematic reduction (33%!!!) in the money supply during the 1920s.

LIE #2
"New Deal" social welfare programs, increased income taxes, and increased market regulations helped the economy.

TRUTH #2
FDR's socialist agenda actually PROLONGED the depression by creating a huge dependancy class, robbing the market of capital, and making it harder to operate a private sector business.

LIE #3
The eruption of World War II produced an ecomomic boom.

TRUTH #3
It was not until the war ended, workers returned to the private sector, and the dismantling of FDR's big government programs allowed money to be used as market capital that we fully recovered from the depression.

The lessons of history can and should be applied to the present economic situation. We don't need a rabble-rousing cult of personality approach. Rather, we need to cut taxes, reduce the size of government, and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit.

Or, is that too "pie in the sky?!"