One of the most important things that makes America and her citizens different from all other nations and people on earth,…are the freedoms we all have been granted by our incredible and precious United States Constitution. This wonderful document legally prepared and adopted, under the most able leadership of the Founding Fathers of our nation, grants all U. S. citizens the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Such rights are never to be usurped, denied, or taken away…at least not by man. Many have tried over our 241 year history, but none have succeeded in dismantling these national laws. Freedom, no matter how great or how small, will always be under fire and threat by those people and forces around the world who want to govern and control all other human beings.

Any organization or group of people (1) have to have or (2) have to develop a ways and means of supporting and feeding themselves to insure their survival. Such a ways and means is accomplished through devising a system of economics …a method(s) of production,…and a basis for the creation of money with which to finance the related production. Hence, the Free Enterprise System of economics was developed to fuel and run the economy of the United States of America.

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services by the population of any group or organization of people. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek words, (“oikonomia,” which means management of a household, administration.) from (“oikos” which means house.) plus from (“nomos” which means custom or law). Hence the combined meaning for Economics means “Rules of the Household.”

A major focus of economics involves the study of how economic agents behave or interact and how economies work. There are two basic and separate distinctions within the science of economics:

(1) Microeconomics…examines the behavior of basic elements in the economy, including individual agents (such as households and firms or as buyers and sellers) and markets, and their interactions.

(2) Macroeconomics…analyzes the entire economy and the issues effecting it, including unemployment, inflation, economic growth, and monetary and fiscal policy.

Other broad distinctions include those between positive economics (describing “what is”) and normative economics (advocating “what ought to be”); between economic theory and applied economics; between rational and behavioral economics; and between mainstream economies (more “orthodox” and dealing with the “rationality-individualism-equilibrium nexus”) and heterodox economics (more “radical” and dealing with the “institutions-history-social structure nexus”).

Economic analysis may be applied throughout society, as in business, finance, healthcare, and government, but also to such diverse subjects as crime, education, the family, law, politics, religion, social institutions, war, and science. At the turn of the 21st century, the expanding domain of economics in the social sciences has been described as economic imperialism.

Economics was defined in 1849 by Thomas Carlyle, the Scottish philosopher, writer, historian, and educator (1795-1881) as:

“A dreary, desolate and, indeed, quite abject and distressing [subject]; what we might call, by way of eminence, the dismal science.”

Economics is something that most people usually take notice of only when things go wrong. Only when an economy is facing a true crisis, when thousands lose their jobs, when prices rise too high or fall too fast, when big government begins taking over what have always been private sector business entities and then attempts to operate them profitably,…do the masses of the population tend to take much note of the subject of economics? It is only at these critical times where there is little doubt that things seem pretty dismal as is underlined and emphasized by the challenges and the restraints we, the people, face,…that reality sets in again and loudly proclaims that we, no matter how brilliant and wise we think we are, simply can not have everything we want. The reality of the dismal present leadership crisis,…the upheaval of our failing economic and political systems and their situations,…and the mountains of increasing over-spending and related national debt all serve to boldly illustrate, for yet one more time, that human beings are inherently imperfect!

Economics is, at its very heart, the study and analysis of people.

It is the study and understanding of the causes and effects of and on other people all of which encompasses history, politics, and psychology. It is an inquiry into how people succeed, into what makes them happy or content, and into how humanity has managed over generations to become more healthy and prosperous than ever before.

Economics examines what drives human beings to do what they do, and looks at how they react when faced with difficulties or success. It investigates choices people make when they are given a limited set of options and how they trade them off against each other.

Economics is a science that reaches its “arms-of-understanding” around and embraces human behavior. To do so, it must naturally entwine itself in other disciplines including history, politics, psychology, and even some scientific graphs, charts, and formulas. If it is history’s job to tell us what mistakes we’ve made over the years of our past,…then it is up to economics to work how to do things differently the next time the same situation or set of conditions comes up and threatens our existence once again.

There exists a continual human nature type problem within the populations of the world. The problem, simply stated, is that history proves that people do not learn anything from history. If we can make the same mistakes over and over again,…went the cry,…what is the purpose of economics?

The wisdom we have learned over centuries on how best to run our economies has made us richer, healthier, and longer-lived than our forefathers could have ever contemplated. However, a quick view of the world’s economies, particularly in the southern hemisphere, tells us that there are no guarantees. Our present prosperity is by no means assured.

Human nature’s sad and dark side seems to always want to take our successes for granted, and not to worry about prolonging them. Rather, people appear to want to focus on the bad things within our society and the dismal side of existing and future possibilities. Such is not a healthy thing to do!

The truth of the matter is simply that economics is not a difficult thing to understand, and therefore should be considered or steered into becoming a complicated mess or process which cannot come up with correct or appropriate solutions to our existing problems. Economics is and will always be the study of humanity, and as such its ideas are often little more than common sense decisions and conclusions.

To become an economist you must first start thinking like one. You need to start asking probing questions about why we humans act the way we do. During your transformation, you most probably need to start rejecting conventional wisdom (they way the masses think and evaluate) and begin understanding that even the simplest things in life are more complicated than they seem to be….and, I might add, all the more beautiful because of it.

The short lesson to be learned about economics is that you need to become a contributor to our system of economics rather than just a user of it or a participant to it. The best and biggest way to accomplish this new position or role and become a major contributor to this national Free Enterprise System of America is for you to start, to own, and to operate for a profit, an honest and legal business of your own. There are many different ways for you to accomplish this requirement. I exhort you to start with paying very careful attention to the people and opportunities that come into your life!

The right one will always find you,…if you keep your eyes open for new opportunities and are willing to get involved. Tomorrow’s benefits and blessings will always come based upon the decisions and choices you are willing to make today.

Peace And Love to All of You……………………….Poppa Bear