So this is my first ever blog post.  I have no idea where this conversation will go or where it will take us, or even how often I’ll write.  Rollo and I have had many conversations, and sometimes heated discussions, on everything from drugs to education, politics to religion, and everything in between.  While we fall on the same side of the political spectrum and I’d say the same ideology, we often seem to disagree on some small detail…At the very least we challenge each other to think.   I can’t speak for Rollo, but I know I have fun with it.  We’ve talked about putting out thoughts and discussions in writing for a long time now and we’re finally getting it done.  I’m not an authority on almost every topic we’ll discuss here, so any criticism or compliments (I don’t expect many) are welcome.

Here’s a little bit about myself…

I grew up in a working class neighborhood and went to Catholic school for 16 straight years.  When I was younger all I thought about all day was sports, mainly baseball and football, and never thought once about economics or politics.  I played football all the way up throgh college, and that took up most my time.  I graduated with a finance degree and have worked in life insurance ever since.  I became a pretty big nerd somewhere in my senior year and the year after I graduated.  In my senior year of college the counterintuitive economics classes (and econ classes that were labeled “fin””) finally made sense.  One day it clicked and all the graphs made sense.  I thought game theory was awesome, I became fascinated with the free market and what drives people to make decisions.  I realized how the law of declining marginal utility explained why I’d stop on my forth double cheeseburger.  It really did change my mind forever and only wished I had this new-found passion for economics when I was 18 so I could have graduated with a econ degree instead of finance.  But I didn’t.  So I started reading a ton of econ.  I read Hayek, Sowell, Mises, and many more including Keynes. For lighter reading I’d pick up Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics or Richard McKenzie’s Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies.  When I think I’m reading too much econ I’ll switch briefly to history, mainly Roman history. That’s another subject that totally sucked me in, but I’ll pretty much read any nonfiction book.

I don’t have an advanced degree, and like I said, I’m not an expert on any subject here, but I’d consider myself more well read than most my age and I’m constantly trying to learn more. Before we get down to the nitty-gritty, I’ll let Rollo introduce himself and we’ll let the conversation flow freely!

God bless freedom, liberty, and personal property,

Slappy Jones II