Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?: A Fast, Clear and Fun Explanation of the Economics You Need for Success in Your Career, Business and Investments (Maybury, Rick. "Uncle Eric" Book.)

What a depressing book! This is one of the books in my kid's homeschool curriculum. It's a primer on economics and I read it because, well, I could use a primer on economics. I mean, I got the basics down: Don't spend more than you earn. (I've had a hard time following that advice this past year,

given all our China related expenses, but that's a story for another time.) Anything more than that, my eyes kind of glaze over. This situation makes it a bit difficult for me to deal with politicians, all of whom seem to be willing to violate that basic rule on a regular basis. Anyway, when I saw this book and realized what it was, I decided to give it a read. Mr. Maybury does give a nice introduction to the whole concept and I can kind of understand now why politicians think this deficit spending is a good thing. (still don't agree with them, mind you.) What's depressing, however, is one of Mr. Maybury's economic beliefs: that a strong economy is based on real cash, i.e. precious metals. Ours isn't and hasn't been for a while. So I finished the book feeling that my entire society, including my own livelihood, is an accident waiting to happen. I've never felt more inclined to try and buy a subsistence farm. Anyway, I think I'll keep this one on my shelf, if for no other reason than that my eyes STILL glaze over when people start talking economics.
--J.

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LibraryThing member jpsnow

Most people would get more from these 100 pages than an entire course or series on monetary policy.

LibraryThing member LaserWraith

Great book that uses history to show mistakes made in the economy, mostly by the government. And many of these mistakes are happening again, now. If only this simple book was required reading for anyone planning to make changes to our economy.

LibraryThing member BookConcierge

This is an explanation of economics and the monetary system that even a middle school student can understand. Maybury writes this as a series of letters from “Uncle Eric.” In each letter he carefully explains one principle, beginning with “what is money.” My favorite principle has to be

tanstaafl = There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch! A couple of hours reading Maybury is easily equal to countless dinner table conversations over 20+ years with my husband (an economist). I highly recommend this to everyone.

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LibraryThing member MusicforMovies

Based heavily on Austrian economic theory this book does a good job of taking economic concepts and vocabulary and explaining it in layman's terms. Like all the "Uncle Eric" series it is a relatively easy read and geared towards to Middle to High School ages although adults can benefit it as well.

One-sided as far as Austrian economics, but the author is honest and open about his bias which is much appreciated.

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