Never Reason from a Price Change, Culture Edition

Save us, Sumner

2025-11-02 Never Reason from a Price Change, Culture Edition Save us, Sumner Every so often in conversation, I’ll hear someone say: “People aren’t buying gas right now because the price is high.” “People aren’t buying houses now because interest rates are high.” “Everybody’s wages are rising, which causes inflation.” Every time a statement like this is uttered, a piece of Scott Sumner dies inside. Sumner has a famous meta-insight: “ Never reason from a price change ”. The principle references instances where people treat prices (outputs) as causes rather than effects. When we observe a price c

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