A new study was just concluded that took a look at how well people understood basic facts of economics, then asked them about their politics.  When the results of the economics quiz were cross-referenced with the politics of the respondents, the results seemed to bear out what conservatives have said about liberals for years - they just don't understand economics.

But now we have some researchers backing up our intuitions and
observations who hail from a place that's overwhelmed
with liberal thought - academia.

(via the Washington Times)

Americans describing themselves as conservative, very conservative and libertarian "do reasonably well" when asked about basic economic questions involving supply, demand and the effects of regulation, concluded Mr. Klein, an economics professor at George Mason University, and Ms. Buturovic, an associate researcher with the polling firm Zogby International.

"But the left has trouble squaring economic thinking with their political psychology, morals and aesthetics," the two write.

Mr. Klein and Ms. Buturovic used a December 2008 poll conducted by Ms.
Buturovic to gauge economic enlightenment, finding that a college
education has less to do with an understanding of basic economic
principles than the respondents' political leanings did. The two
analyzed Ms. Buturovic's data to determine which factors had the most
impact on what they called "economic enlightenment."

"We think that, for many respondents, economic understanding takes a vacation when economic enlightenment conflicts with establishment political
sensibilities," the two concluded. ...

Love the line about college education...something that most people who have been to college would understand, given the ideological leanings of most professors.

Also, note that they are essentially saying that liberals either don't understand basic economics, or just ignore it when it comes into conflict with their politics.  Something we've seen many times in the past, and are experiencing right now with Obamanomics.  It also explains a good bit of what's wrong with economists like Paul Krugman.

Among the results: Self-described liberals were more likely to disagree with
statements that restrictions on housing development make housing less
affordable; that mandatory licensing of professional services increases
the prices of those services; or that overall, the standard of living
is higher today than it was 30 years ago. ...

"Many variables that are associated with conservatism were also associated
with greater enlightenment," he said. "Republicans scored better than
Democrats, men better than women, married people better than those who
are single. Those who never shop at Wal-Mart and those who consider
themselves residents of the 'planet Earth' (as opposed to America or
their city or town) had particularly low scores." ...

The survey's results should also come as no surprise given the sorry state of education in our country.  It would seem to be little more than just a coincidence that the decline of quality education has proceeded right along with the rise of liberalism, the entitlement mentality and the gargantuan growth of the federal government.

One might also take a look at the economies of countries ruled by liberals/socilaists to get an idea of just how successful liberal economic theory - or the lack of any basic economic understanding - really is when practiced anywhere other than in the classroom of the average college campus.