Bendunomics · Analysis
Myth Busting
Short, data-driven breakdowns of claims that dominate economic conversation but rarely survive the numbers. No slogans — just sources and tradeoffs.
Myth · #04
“Scandinavian countries are socialist.”
Myth · #03
“AI will leave us all unemployed.”
Myth · #02
“Trade deficits make a country poorer.”
A trade deficit sounds like a loss. The US runs one, the UK runs one, and political narratives treat the gap as money lost to foreigners. But a trade deficit isn't a debt or a payment — it's an accounting identity, and understanding what it actually measures changes the conversation.
Myth · #01
“Minimum wage always helps workers.”
Raising the minimum wage is one of the most popular policies across the political spectrum — it sounds costless. Someone earning $10 an hour now earns $15, and the employer pays the difference. But that intuition assumes employers keep the same number of workers at the new price, which is rarely what the data shows.