" I can do math in my head."

"I can do math in my head."

And with that comment, the guy sitting next to me made the point better than I could ever have hoped to do.

I was sitting at the bar when he came in. I had run into this same guy about four times in 3 days. First I was in a waiting room at the gas station with him where we were both getting our tires serviced. Then ran into him at the bar, about an hour later, and then at the bar the next two days. So it wasn't all that odd that he sat down next to me and started talking. But it was different that he started talking politics. Most people don't dare go there. But everybody who knows me, knows that I relish talking politics, particularly if you disagree with me. That may strike you as odd, but I determined a long time ago that arguing politics is a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say. There are two reasons for that. First, I have always felt that if I'm going to state my support for a policy or candidate, then I better be able to back that up. I had better be able to argue my position at the drop of a hat. (My mother always said that I would argue at the drop of a hat anyway, so I'm just making her proud.) And secondly, it's the only way I change my mind.  And that happens when my BS detector goes off on myself. Like most people, I want to win the argument. So when the back and forth starts, I'm just trying to out maneuver the other guy and win. But it's at the point where I hear BS coming out of my own mouth that I realize something is wrong with my argument. And that's when I change my mind. Anyway, the point is, I think arguing is good for us.

So Tommy sits down next to me and starts in about how unhappy he is with the economy and Trump's election. He explains that he works in a lab. He performs tests that determine whether or not you have certain types of cancer. He then disparages financial managers, and points out that there are some companies that NEVER make a profit, losing millions quarter after quarter, and year after year. So I'm thinking this may be the guy to prove my point about economic education.

I say, "You're probably very well educated, do you have an advanced degree?"

"Yes, I have a Masters."

"So you've gone to school for what, 18, 19 years?"

"Yeah, that's a lot of money isn't it?

"But it's also a lot of years, a lot of education right?"

"Yes"

"So how many classes in economics did you take during those 19 years?"

"Oh I can do math in my head."

"So the answer is none."

"I learned all that stuff on my own."

"What stuff?"

"Profit and losses. I can do math in my head."

"That's not economics, and you're proving my point."