I ordered The End of Prosperity after seeing the authors speak on CSPAN one day. It's a good read so far, written by economists who explain how history has shown how the economy works. If you don't want to invest in a book about the politics of economics, at least read my notes so you know what's what.

Here's a recap of the first chapter.

• Regan's economic policies started 25 years (1980-2005) of good economy in America.
• Political party doesn't matter - John Kennedy and Ronald Regan were good for the economy, Nixon and Carter were horrible for the economy.
• There's 4 "killers of prosperity"
  
  1. Trade protectionism
  2. Tax increases and profligate government spending
  3. New regulations and increased government intervention in the economy
  4. Monetary policy mistakes
     
• The opposites of these 4 are economy boosters.
• The poorer benefit the most from tax cuts and free trade. Think about it. Lowering prices on T-shirts at Walmart doesn't help millionares buy what they need. It helps the poor who buy what they can, and global competition keeps prices low.
  
  There's a chart in the book that compares the average of all households in 1970 vs the average of poor households in 2005. More poor households have more now than the average of all Americans did in 1970: washing machines (72 vs 71%), dryers (57 vs 44%), microwaves (73 vs 1%), cell phones (60 vs 1%), air conditioners (82 vs 34%), and more.
• From 1994 to 2004, "Americans in the bottom 20 percent of income actually had the highest increase in incomes" - the poor are getting richer (and the richest are actually getting poorer).
  
• The idea of class-warfare doesn't work in America. More than 50% of households are stock-holders. We are worker-owners. The idea of Wallstreet vs. Main Street is a false dichotomy.
• The death tax is 0% in 2010. Next year in 2011, it will jump up to 55%!
  

"Economic policy matters. Incentives matter. Prosperity doesn't happen by accident, and growth is not the natural course of events; it has to be nurtured and rewarded." - p 11.

I've made several resolutions to prepare for 2010. I'm not committing to year resolutions, I'm taking things a month at a time - even if I fail, it's only for a month.

• Work out at least 6 times each week.
• Read at least 1 chapter of non-fiction every day.
• Read at least 1 chapter of fiction every day.
• Stick to the Read-Thru-The-Bible calendar (I've started a Google calendar if you want to follow along).
• Memorize something every day. (I usually do this while doing cardio workouts.)
• Write a physical letter at least 6 times every week.
  

Well, now I'm off to the gym. I'll write soon!

This has been a great year. I haven't lost my temper, or broken any laws. I haven't gone over budget once, and haven't broken any resolutions. I haven't gotten in any arguments or fights, haven't gained any weight.

12 hours down, only 8,760 hours to go.

Happy January 1, 2010.