Call it the Big Beautiful Bill. Or view it as the Big Bad Betrayal. Trade Liberation Day or Disaster. Whatever your political leanings, make sure you remember basic economic principles when formulating your opinion about them. A principle is a foundational truth that drives economic behavior, e.g., people choose a product based on its perceived functional and emotional value. In this blog, I’ll review five fundamental economic principles that are central to understanding the impact of the BBB and tariff policy on our economic growth. Opportunity Cost When making purchasing decisions, we assess the value of the product or service. We also compare this value to what else the money could have been spent on, i.e., its opportunity cost. One opportunity cost of a purchase is lower savings. Another is forgoing a different purchase. If the perceived opportunity cost is higher than the…
