Dr. Yoram Bauman--Economist, Comedian, A Man for All Seasons

I love Dr. Yoram Bauman's Small Party web site. There's plenty of food for thought for economics instructors throughout. On his humor page, I found a link to this parody of Mankiw's 10 principles. Check out Yoram's web page and read the explanations for his translations. There is a keen intellect at work here, so don't let the silliness fool you.

Mankiw’s Principles

#1. People face tradeoffs.
#2. The cost of something is what you give up to get it.
#3. Rational people think at the margin.
#4. People respond to incentives.
#5. Trade can make everyone better off.
#6. Markets are usually a good way to organize economic activity.
#7. Governments can sometimes improve market outcomes.
#8. A country’s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services.
#9. Prices rise when the government prints too much money.
#10. Society faces a short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment.

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Yoram’s Translations

#1. Choices are bad.
#2. Choices are really bad.
#3. People are stupid.
#4. People aren’t that stupid.
#5. Trade can make everyone worse off.
#6. Governments are stupid.
#7. Governments aren’t that stupid.
#8. Blah blah blah.
#9. Blah blah blah.
#10. Blah blah blah.