Market Economies

           Market Economies have many advantages, like the ability to adapt to economic changes, how much freedom it gives individuals and businesses, as well as the limited government interference. All of these are characteristics I love about our economy because it allows individuals to succeed by their own doing. My Dad graduated college with a degree in electrical engineering, but ended finding his niche building the frame work for websites using a program called Site Core and owning his own business that specialized in that. Our market economy allowed my dad to adapt his skills in order to be successful. That I think is the greatest strength of our market economy, it allows individuals to take charge of their own life and become successful on their own without any serious interference from the government or out side sources. 

             Although there are many advantages there are also some disadvantages of having a Market Economy. A few disadvantages would be that not everyone's basic needs are being taken care of, workers can face uncertainty of success, and lastly a market economy can not provide enough services that people highly value. I think that the greatest disadvantage would be that some people get left in the dust and are not taken care of. I mean look at the growing homeless population especially here in Portland. Market economies make it so individuals can be successful, but it also makes it difficult for some people to be successful because it is hard to go out into the world unless you have a leg up, which some people don't have. When in a command economy every one is given equal opportunity but that opportunity is all the same, and everyone can only do the same thing. 

           So how can America fix that flaw in our Market Economy and help people who don't have a leg up get started, but do that without making every one else suffer or pay the less fortunate way?

Opportunity Cost

                   Sophomore year I was training off season for soccer and I was playing in a pick up game at the Tualatin Indoor Facility in a co-ed game. I was chasing a guy about three times my size back down the field on a break away in a dead sprint, got in front of him and tackled away the ball, when I planted my right foot his knee drove into the back of my knee and I heard three pops and my knee buckled left and right. I went to the emergency room the next day and they said that nothing was wrong and I would be okay, but they referred me to an orthopedic, who then told me I had completely torn my ACL.
                   

                     My doctor gave me a few options; I could have surgery to repair it and take a graph of tendon from my hamstring, quad or patella, or I could just live with it. The opportunity cost of having the surgery would have been dealing with the drugs it requires to go through surgery, recovery time, physical therapy, and most likely being unable to play soccer because of the injury. The opportunity cost of not having the surgery would have been living on a bum knee and having to be extremely cautious with what I did. I ended up choosing the lesser or two evils and went with surgery so I would have freedom again, and a possibility to play soccer. I did this because the surgery would give me a better and happier future.


                      I have gone through a really big hurdle with my health so I know a little bit more about how opportunity cost weighs in on things. But what about people who haven't had an opportunity to learn how to go about these types of decisions. What are the best ways to have people learn, understand, and experience working with opportunity cost over then just listing off examples?

Scarcity

TIME IS SCARCE

Route 66 Gift Shop, http://www.excelcompaniesltd.com/clocks.htm.

A reason why time is scarce to me is because it seems like now-a-days I can never seem to have enough of it to get anything done and have time for myself. I can run around doing all the activities I am supposed to do, but I still cant seem to find enough time to focus on things I love, like hanging out at my barn all day or learning a new song on the piano. There is just never enough time.