“My opinion changes based upon who is signing my check.”
~~ Anonymous Economist in Arizona
That was a quote from a fellow economist with whom I worked on a project to change the corporate income tax apportionment formula in Arizona. At the time, I was refusing to tweak my model to “prove” that manufacturing jobs are solely determined by this economic policy.
Even though our panel was successful in changing the formula, I could not erase that quote from my mind. It was at that point that I realized I no longer wanted to be known as an economist. Instead, I wanted to be known as an economic educator. I wanted to teach others the concepts that most economists DO NOT want you to know. They do not want you to know because if you can be your own economist — they lose their livelihood.
While most economic reports and research papers are written by academicians and/or economists employed by financial firms, VisionEcon is an antithesis to this convention. I have been an economist without direct financial support from any single industry group or political party for over 29 years.
I started my career as an economist at Harris Bank (now BMO Harris). I was responsible for the integrity of the department’s macroeconomic model. During my tenure, the department was rated number one for the most accurate interest rate forecast by Institutional Investor magazine. I also was privileged to assist in editing and providing research for the book, Taking the Voodoo Out of Economics, by Dr. Robert Genetski.
When I moved to Arizona, I worked as an economist for the State of Arizona. After being convinced to venture out on my own, I worked on legislative impact studies and revenue forecasts. As part of the Western Blue Chip Consensus, for multiple years I had been ranked as the “Most Accurate Forecaster.” I still run my forecast models.
For the last nine years, I have been a hands-on advocate for business owners: participating on the Board of Directors for several entities, teaching business owners how to analyze and implement systems based upon their financial indicators, arbitrating funding, creating new operational systems and providing foresight on macroeconomic trends for marketing and strategic planning.
Also, during these last nine years, I have served as an adjunct professor of economics, finance and business for the local community college system and two major universities. Through these endeavors, I uncovered drastic flaws in theories espoused by current economic textbooks. I disclosed these flaws to my students through lively activities and discussion, and I promised them I would someday expose them in my own textbook. I am working on that as well!
I currently hold degrees in Probability and Statistics, Economics and an MBA in Finance.
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