I wish I had the hind-sight of someone who has been paying attention for a lot longer than I have.

For example, a third-grader who has just finished reading a Harry Potter book will probably know more about magic than what it's going to take to improve the U.S. economy.

Now, if that same third-grader had just read Adam Smith's ground-breaking book "The Wealth of Nations," they would understand more than most Americans about Capitalism and macro-economics, but that same hind-sight might be skewed because of the generation gap. Smith's book was published in 1776.

The Library of Economics and Liberty wrote:   "Today Smith’s reputation rests on his explanation of how rational self-interest in a free-market economy leads to economic well-being. It may surprise those who would discount Smith as an advocate of ruthless individualism that his first major work concentrates on ethics and charity."  (http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Smith.html)

The point is that it takes more than reading one newspaper column or listening to one TV news report to become knowledgeable on the machinations of the global economy.

Only a fool would open their mouth and express an opinion on something they know nothing about. Just because you have a checking account it doesn't make you an expert on banking, and because you drive a car it doesn't make you an expert on U.S. auto makers.

There is one area, however, where Americans can instantly become experts and that's the arena of b-llsh-t. But even that will take some effort in that one has to have an open mind - and even then it's not quite that simple.

Just know that whatever you feel about the current economic conditions in the country you know only enough to get yourself dressed in the morning and fix your own breakfast.

Or am I assuming too much here?

The "economy" is a very personal thing. Your dad will have one opinion and your mom could have another one. Your best friend might feel differently than you do, but one thing is for sure, you probably know just enough to use an ATM machine and then spend that money at the local convenience store or The Gap.

No one likes to admit they know diddly squat about a subject, but Americans from one coast to the other will begin to regain some respect for themselves when they finally do come to grips with that.

There no shame in acknowledging that you don't know it all. Congressmen and some of the media pundits have yet to learn that lesson. The shame is in pretending you know something you don't.

Even the experts often disagree with each other, which is why it's even more important that individual Americans learn something about the economy, if for no other reason than we are less likely to bamboozled by someone who knows just as little as we do.