"Better not a fool be, or what will others think of thee."
"A good life is a result of good rational thinking that leads to good choices - for they are the components from which one builds a happy life."
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IF B IS PRECEDED BY A, A CAUSED B = NONSENSE
The most significant aspect of this war of words stems from a common logical fallacy known as post hoc ergo propter hoc, which suggests that if event O follows event R, event R must have caused event O.
In the present case, event R would be Romneycare and event O would be Obamacare. Romneycare, they say, brought about Obamacare. Or, said another way, Obamacare came from Romneycare (first fallacy), so it must be just like Romneycare (second fallacy). (Source, if you need to see it)
A person who can identify the "right cause" will live a better life, because he will be solving the cause that created the problem or situation - and not having to deal with the problem over and over and over. An incredible amount of energy is wasted on "wrong cause" thinking.
IF PERSON X WAS PRESENT WHEN A HAPPENED, THEN X CAUSED A
Although examples abound, especially in politics, let's use Gingrich's claims that he caused the Cold War to end and created four years of budget surpluses - inferring that from his having been there at the time.
If one looks a little deeper, you'll see quotes from Gingrich demeaning Reagan's approach - and saying it would fail - but he was "present" at the time, so he takes credit. See Gingrich Repeatedly Insulted Reagan. .
His claim that he was responsible for four years of budget surplus is belied by two facts:
1. The expenditures line for the government continued the same increase rate.
2. The revenues went up 25%, thereby producing the surpluses.
No, neither he nor Clinton created that happening, though they were there and would be happy to take the
credit. The tech boom caused it. (When the bubble burst right afterward, we had a sizable recession.)
