The Lemonade Shortage

I’m an economist and I am as passionate about economics today as I was when I took my first undergraduate course.  In that course, in fact in the first lesson, a very basic but still fundamental definition of economics was presented and discussed.  That definition focuses on the allocation of scarce resources among alternative ends.  Because of scarcity, it is impossible for our society or any society on our planet to meet everyone’s needs and wants.   And because of that scarcity, choices need to be made and hopefully these will be the best possible choices.  Scarcity and choice become even more of a challenge if you are working within the constraints of a severe economic recession, an unemployment rate that is at 10%, and at least some uncertainty as to whether a recovery is in fact underway.  More scarcity, more uncertainty, more difficult choices, more needs not met.