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Economics Guru
Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell is an American economics guru, social theorist, political philosopher and author.

Biography

Thomas Sowell was born June 30, 1930 in Gastonia, North Carolina. For a young African-American boy, Sowell had a very hard childhood, his father died before he was born, and Sowell's mother, a maid, already had four children. He was later adopted by his great-aunt.

When Sowell was eight, his family moved from North Carolina to a neighborhood in Harlem, New York.  He became the first in his family to have an education beyond sixth grade by attending High School.

However, due to a deteriorating home environment and financial problems, he was forced to dropped out of high school at the age 17.

Shortly after leaving high school, he tried out for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He did not do so well, in fact he did so poorly fielding in the tryout, they sent him home without letting him him hit.

At the age of 21, Sowell was drafted into the Korean War, he was assigned to be a photographer in the US Marine Corps.

After he was discharged from the Marines, he attended night classes at Howard University despite the fact that he did not graduate from high school.

His high grades on College Board exams and recommendations by his professors helped him to be accepted by Harvard University.

In 1958 he graduated, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.

In addition, he received a Master of Arts in economics from Columbia University in 1959 and a PhD. in economics from the University of Chicago in 1968.

Since 1980 he has been a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he holds a fellowship named after Rose and Milton Friedman, his mentor.

The Free Markets

Early in his writing career, Thomas Sowell stated that he was a Marxist and approved of Marxian economics.

These beliefs changed after he worked as an intern for the federal government in the summer of 1960. He rejected the Marxist views of economics in favor of free market economics and principles.

During his work as a government intern, Sowell discovered a correlation between the rise of mandated minimum wages for workers in the sugar industry and the rise of unemployment in that industry.

Studying the patterns led him to theorize that the politicians who passed the minimum wage laws cared more about their own jobs than the plight of the poor.

"Anyone who saw the contrast between East Berlin and West Berlin, back in the days when half the city was controlled by the Communists, can have no doubts as to which system produces more economic benefits for ordinary people.

Even though the people in both parts of the city were of the same race, culture and history, those living under the Communists were painfully poorer, in addition to having less freedom."

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Thomas Sowell's website : www.tsowell.com

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Economics Guru - Thomas Sowell's Articles & Commentary

Note:  All of these articles were first posted on the Homepage.

Thomas Sowell - Random Thoughts

A Return to Keynes? by Thomas Sowell

Destroying Household Jobs by Thomas Sowell

Minimum Wage Madness: Part I by Thomas Sowell

Minimum Wage Madness: Part II by Thomas Sowell

Can It Happen Here? by Thomas Sowell

Guns and Pensions by Thomas Sowell

Prophets and Losses by Thomas Sowell

Prophets and Losses: Part II by Thomas Sowell

The Role of 'Educators' by Thomas Sowell

Inflation - "Taxing the Poor" by Thomas Sowell

Fiscal Cliff Notes by Thomas Sowell

An Overdue Book by Thomas Sowell

Killing the Goose by Thomas Sowell

An Economic 'Plan'?

A Rational Discussion of the Federal Budget

Playing With Words

Promises from Liars (commentary from Thomas Sowell)

Random Thoughts

The 'Fairness' Fraud

The Progressive Legacy: Part I

The Progressive Legacy: Part II

The Progressive Legacy: Part III

Getting Nowhere, Very Fast

Kodak and the Post Office

Alice in Liberal Land

Numbers Games

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