They never learn…

Geoffrey Lawrence

Think economic policy blunders are something new? Think again. Bad policymakers just aren’t that innovative. Sure, we’ve had our share of blunders over the past decade (e.g. protectionism, repeated “stimulus,” multiple rounds of bailouts, overly loose monetary policy, perverse incentives created through the regulatory structure, etc.), but none of these ideas are new. All have been tried and all have failed repeatedly throughout human history.

With that in mind, I’d like to highlight a humorous (if not depressing) commentary on the repeated imposition and subsequent failure of poorly designed economic policies. This foray into the ludicrous should endow today’s policymakers with the wisdom not to repeat previous disasters. Notice I said “should.” It won’t.

Enjoy.

Geoffrey Lawrence

Geoffrey Lawrence

Director of Research

Geoffrey Lawrence is director of research at Nevada Policy.

Lawrence has broad experience as a financial executive in the public and private sectors and as a think tank analyst. Lawrence has been Chief Financial Officer of several growth-stage and publicly traded manufacturing companies and managed all financial reporting, internal control, and external compliance efforts with regulatory agencies including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  Lawrence has also served as the senior appointee to the Nevada State Controller’s Office, where he oversaw the state’s external financial reporting, covering nearly $10 billion in annual transactions. During each year of Lawrence’s tenure, the state received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Award from the Government Finance Officers’ Association.

From 2008 to 2014, Lawrence was director of research and legislative affairs at Nevada Policy and helped the institute develop its platform of ideas to advance and defend a free society.  Lawrence has also written for the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation, with particular expertise in state budgets and labor economics.  He was delighted at the opportunity to return to Nevada Policy in 2022 while concurrently serving as research director at the Reason Foundation.

Lawrence holds an M.A. in international economics from American University in Washington, D.C., an M.S. and a B.S. in accounting from Western Governors University, and a B.A. in international relations from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.  He lives in Las Vegas with his beautiful wife, Jenna, and their two kids, Carson Hayek and Sage Aynne.