The Utter Simplicity of Economics

Let's start with a definition, shall we...

DEFINITION OF ECONOMICS --  The study of the allocation of scare resources to the marketplace that have multiple uses...  In so doing, we can look at production, distribution, consumption, and wealth transfer.

But, let focus on a few KEY WORDS...

Study  --   this is nothing more that collecting and analyzing data that pertains to the production, distribution, consumption, and wealth transfer regarding these scare resources.

Allocation  --  is nothing more that looking at what item(s) go to what person or people and why.

Scarce Resources  --  resources are always considered to be in scarce supply because no matter how fast or quickly we transport the resources to the marketplace, we simply cannot get them there all at one time.

Multiple Uses  --  a resource is said to have multiple uses if it can be used for more than one thing like:  eggs, flour, circuit breakers, rubber, petroleum oil, wood/lumber, glass, etc.

Supply and Demand dictate the price of a resource.  For example, supplier want more money if they produce more products because it takes more raw materials and labor to produce those products.  The line that we would draw would be like connecting the left bottom corner of a square to the top right corner of that same square...

This line is called the Supply Line.

Consumers, on the other hand, want to pay less for a product if they are willing to purchase several of them at one time.  This line would be like connecting the bottom right corner of that same square to the upper left corner.

As you can see, we have just draw a BIG "X" in that box.

Where those two lines intersect, is the ideal price for that particular item.  Supply and Demand lines can reflect one item at a time like Ford Escorts 1999 or multiple items at a time that the selling of all vehicles regardless of make and model and year.

So, people who study the economy and the allocation of our scarce resources are looking at all the factors that influence production, all the factors that influence distribution, all the factors that influence consumption, and all the factors that influence how money changes hands or wealth transfer in order to predict what the economy might do in the next 3 months or the next 6 months or for the next year.

Predicting what the economy may or may not do helps businesses decide if they should expand and hire more people or not expand and possibly layoff people.  The reason that company are faced with these types of decisions is that most of our companies sell stock and those people who purchased that stock (Shareholders or Stockholders) did so with the promise of receiving a substantial dividend every 90 days.  If the company fails to honor their promise to the Shareholders then the CEO of that company could possibly find himself or herself on the unemployment line.

There are two basic areas of Economics:  MICRO (small) and MACRO (large) and basically can be explained like this:

• looking at the individual is MICRO
• looking at the family is MACRO
• looking at the family is MICRO
• looking at the community is MACRO
  
• looking at the community is MICRO
• looking at the city is MACRO
• looking at the city is MICRO
• looking at the region is MACRO
• looking at the region is MICRO
• looking at the State is MACRO
• looking at the State is MICRO
• looking at the USA is MACRO
• looking at the USA is MICRO
• looking at the world is MACRO

If prices of a particular item increase too high, then the consumer will find a substitute until the price returns to that point where they feel it is a good buy once again.

Sometimes, those who study economics CANNOT predict what they consumer is going to do at any given point-in-time which is why predictions and forecasts do not always work out.  Think of it this way...  In 2015 all the polls were reporting based upon data collected that Trump was going to lose the election.

A Photo Is A Thousand Words

Truth is Stranger Than Non Fiction

We, as Americans, both Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, and the so called Other... are only as aware of TRUTH as the MEDIA wants us to be...  that is to say, if the media censors truth from the general public then the general public WILL NOT KNOW...  and, how is that TRUTH...  and, how is that honesty in journalistic reporting?

That's a rhetorical question because the answer is obvious.

There is no truth except what is being reported and of what is being reported what is actually believed is even more important.

Many people are told about Global Warming and Climate Change...  but, what is actually believed by the general public then becomes the new truth.

Some politicians want to do something about Global Warming and Climate Change while other politicians do not...  and, to make matters worse, some businesses want to do something while other businesses do not...  even scientists disagree about Global Warming and Climate Change and what to do...  so, what is the TRUTH?

TRUTH IS WHAT WE BELIEVE...

American Black National Anthem written 1919

Lift Every Voice and Sing

James Weldon Johnson, J. Rosamond Johnson

Lift ev'ry voice and sing
'Til earth and heaven ring
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list'ning skies
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on 'til victory is won

Stony the road we trod
Bitter the chastening rod
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died
Yet with a steady beat
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered
Out from the gloomy past
'Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast

God of our weary years
God of our silent tears
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light
Keep us forever in the path, we pray
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee
Shadowed beneath Thy hand
May we forever stand
True to our God
True to our native land

Blog Owner's Comments:  As long as American Blacks have a Black National Anthem, the more resistance they will demonstrate to accept the American National Anthem and the more DIVISION will be created between the races, perpetuating RACISM...

Personally, according to the FIRST AMENDMENT of THE BILL OF RIGHTS incorporated into the US CONSTITUTION in 1776 when the Black Man was still a slave, all American Blacks just like all American Whites have a CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to enjoy free speech and say whatever it is that they want...

AND... this constitutional right will continue to be enforced upheld by the COURTS until the US Constitution is rewritten and that First Amendment abolished like slavery.

Be A Patriot

The 4th of July

It has taken me 72 years to realize this but we should not be expecting anyone to celebrate today other than American Whites...  or Caucasians...  or WASPS...  as the United States of America's independence from Great Britain was, for all intents and purposes, just for the WHITE MAN, a name given to us by those Native Americans whose land this was before we STOLE it from them and made it our own.

And, what did the Native American get in return?  A little land on a reservation and the ability to own Casinos...

And, while we were celebrating our VICTORY over the British, the BLACK MAN was a slave of the WHITE MAN and considered his property...

And, for our FOUNDING FATHERS, they were FREE and able to create a NEW NATION carved out from the image of their own IDEALS and BELIEFS, expecting whoever else was living in THEIR LAND to abide by what they had written down on paper and either presented to the British or to themselves and the people they now represented.

HISTORY records all of this.

The 4th of July isn't for African Americans is it?

HISTORY has preserved all of this.

HISTORY has become the TRUTH of the WHITE MAN...

So...  today, I sit on my screened in back porch and as the cats sleep on the cat structures we purchased several years ago, I drink decaf coffee with sugar free French Vanilla Cappuccino Mix and ponder how frigging lucky I am to have been born a WHITE MAN in America, letting my sarcasm settle on the bottom of the cup with all the coffee grinds that escaped through the filter.

Yes...  the WHITE MAN FREED the BLACK MAN in time

Yes...  the WHITE MAN passed laws to allow the BLACK MAN to become an American Citizen

Yes...  the WHITE MAN passed another law to give the BLACK MAN the right to vote

Yes...  the WHITE MAN told the BLACK MAN that the US CONSTITUTION and the BILL OF RIGHTS belonged to him as well now

Yes...  the WHITE MAN neither treated the BLACK MAN as FREE or as EQUAL

TODAY...  the WHITE MAN WILL NO DOUBT WILL:

• over eat
• over consume alcohol
• over indulge in the holiday
• possibly tell a few "off color" jokes
• probably commit a little "sexual harassment" blaming it on the alcohol
• and expect all the minorities to EXALT him

TOMORROW, we will all look back at the passing of just another WHITE MAN'S HOLIDAY...  but, for me, I will be thinking of all those who are not WHITE...  and, I will think about the evils of slavery and the repercussions of slavery that have still not subsided...  and, I will think of all the British Soldiers and Colonials who died so that a few WHITE MEN could be free of oppression from Great Britain while they continued to oppress the BLACK MAN.

NOW THAT AMERICA IS SUCH A GREAT ECONOMIC AND WEALTHY POWERHOUSE ON A GLOBAL SCALE...  THE WHITE MAN DOES NOT WANT TO LOOK BACK AND REMEMBER HOW THE HELL HE GOT HERE...

THIS and THAT

The Pool Guy

While we were on vacation, our 24' round above ground pool motor stopped working probably because we had had so much rain that our pool was overflowing from the top and the 5 year old motor was being stressed more than it could handle.  After having no water circulation for about 3 days, a new motor was installed but the pool guy notice a crack on the top valve was leaking water and ordered a new valve that was installed yesterday.

I was home and noticed the pool guy walking out to his car around the deck and assuming he had finished called out to him to ask a few questions before he left.  When I got within 6 feet of him, he said, "You know you cannot wear a shirt like that out in public anymore," pointing to the T-shirt I was wearing.  I looked down at my T-shirt as best as I could and smiled as I looked back at him, saying, "isn't that crazy...  I had not thought much about it until you pointed it out."

We talked about how during the 8 years of the Obama Administration, none of this BLM stuff ever took place and there were numerous killings of black people by white cops...  but, now that Trump is President, it is all somehow his fault.

The pool guy said that during the 10 years he has worked with him father, the only people they have to worry about not paying their bills are their black clients that all their white clients, Hispanic clients, Asian clients, and Native American clients always pay their bill on or before their due dates...  but, if he mentions this to anyone, especially the black client that is not paying their bills on time, then he and his father are called RACISTS.

All Creatures Great and Small

WHY... Why... why?

WHY are not more WEALTHY AMERICAN BLACKS joining with BLM movement with personal appearances as well as giving money???

We have thousands of wealthy AMERICAN BLACKS who have made their money in Hollywood, Popular Music, Professional Athletics, and in business and the only AMERICAN BLACKS that I see protesting are the ones WHO ARE NOT WEALTHY...

It would help me understand it better if WEALTHY AMERICAN BLACKS join the BLM movement with their physical appearance and participation...  I would like to see them RIOTING, LOOTING, and PROTESTING because then and only then would I believe that they are SERIOUS and that the BLM movement is serious and not just a bunch of radical dissidents.

Glad I am Done With Working

When I think back on all the crap I put up while working on my career, it's hard to believe I actually survived 45 years in those working environments.  My first employer was a family operation and enjoyed taking money from a gullible pubic and pushing employees to their limits so that they could get wealthier.  My second employer was a Board of Director who during the day were nobodies where they worked and were routinely bossed around like the idiots they were, only to find a little bit of power on the Board controlling for the sake of controlling to achieve no purposes at all.

My third and fourth employers were Community Colleges that played a numbers game with FTE (full time equivalents) because that is how they generated revenues from the State Legislature and it did not matter if it was real or not as long as it was on paper.  The Presidents only wanted subordinates that did not challenge their authority and if that happened they had to go.

My fifth employer was a group of men who bought a division away from the parent for the sole purpose of building up its credentials so it could be sold for a substantial profit and none of those owners cared about the 6,000 employees that they were going to put on the unemployment line as long as they were able to turn a profit...  but, this employer was Shirley Temple compared to my sixth employer who simply lied to people and convinced them to spend $70,000 on education that was for all intents and purposes worthless.  The teachers this sixth employer hired were backed into a corner and told that if they did not pass students along whether they earned it or not that they would be fired.

My seventh and eight employers were colleges as well and while both of these institutions did try to maintain good student outcomes at a reasonable price, making sure that students really did earn their grade, the supervisors that worked at these schools were not ethical or loyal to their subordinates and if you did not agree with them, then they found some way to terminate your contract.

Long before my first employer, I spent two years in the military that is famous for it chain of command and following the rules and giving extra military instruction to those who tried to be independent.  And, there was a construction company, I worked at during the summers while I was a college student who built highways and simply expected everyone to work their asses off because that was the owner's mentality.  No special pay or higher rates of pay just a hard day's work expected, but as a college student I knew no better.

All-in-all, my work was rewarding and reassuring and what made it unbearable were the people with whom I worked or the people for whom I worked and the more Christian they claimed to be, the more horrible their leadership and guidance...  and, it was so remarkably bad that when I reached my full retirement age of 67, I could have worked longer, perhaps to 70 but I was so FED UP WITH MANAGEMENT that like my father could not wait to leave.

I lived modestly while working and I continue to live modestly being retired.  If I had more money I am not sure if I would live modestly or not, but I live this way because this is all that I can afford...  and, for the last 20 years have gradually toned down my expectations and needs in an effort to accept this way of life.  Consequently, I have gotten used to living modestly.

Part of my ability to live modestly is that I have NO DEBT.  My monthly expenses are right at $4,000 each month which allows my wife and I to take 4-5 vacations each year if we want to...  this year there has only been one, even though we had three planned...  BUT COVID-19 changed our plans.  My wife and I eat dinner out once or twice a week, sometimes breakfast or brunch on the weekends and have plenty of things to do around the house.

Ten years ago, I did some consulting on the side and we used that money to refurbish our house and make it handicap accessible, including putting in a pool, large deck, gazebo, and hot tub to be our vacation if we cannot afford to leave the house which has not yet been the case...  but, at 72 and 67 that time is right around the corner.

Just Another Fairy Tale...

I started this BLOG in March 2020 because after writing down my thoughts each day since 2001, I decided what the f _ _ _, I might as well share them with others as I really have nothing to lose and perhaps nothing to gain either but at least it gave me something to do each day now that I was retired...

In just 3 quickly passing months and while my readership is still not as high as readers would like, I have been visited by people from TEN FRIGGING COUNTRIES...  and, for me that is a success...  and, worth my continued writing...  although, if no one had visited this BLOG I still would be writing and posting here because I am still retired and have nothing better to do...  seriously...

I retired 5 years ago after working for 45 years and it was not a day too soon either as I had gotten pretty fed up with the bullshits that exists in the workplace by little people who have acquired a little power...  and, what they have not realized yet is that power is not taken, it is earned and given to that person by the people who are their subordinates.

Similarly, in a DOMINANT/submissive relationship, the POWER given to the DOMINANT has been given willingly and voluntarily by the submissive...  so, who really has the power? 

ALSO similarly, are our lives here on earth and the fact that our lives (none of whom asked for birth) were given to us as a gift by GOD or our CREATOR or by whatever other name you want to use...  our birth did not come because any of us asked for it and our death will not arrive either because any of us asked for it...  OUR LIVES ARE BEING CONTROLLED by HE who some of us worship and in so doing give HIM power and DOMINION over us whether we want it or not...   and, that my friends is TRUE POWER...

Why were YOU in particular given birth by your parents???
And, did your mom really give birth to you in the sense of allowing you to grow in her womb?
Was your birth location predetermined?
Were your parents predetermined?
Was your face predetermined?

OR,

was this some crazy result of SCIENTIFIC EVOLUTION OF SPECIES...  that miraculously took place over millions of years...  starting with the BIG BANG and later a POOL OF LIFE from which the first one celled animal grew which later created animals with millions of cells which later and after numerous cell and DNA mutations created MANKIND and over time, evolution quite unscientifically created white, black, brown, olive, and red creatures all of whom would fight each other for domination...  because that fighting survival GENE had evolved from their original DNA...

JUST HOW MUCH BULLSHIT DO YOU WANT TO BELIEVE PEOPLE???

INTERMISSION V