Economics

I'll never be a rich man.

I just don't have what it takes.

I had to take an Economics class at Ohio University. It was part of a core curriculum that every student had to take. It was not a strong subject for me.

It was a big class, one of those auditorium style classes with about 75 students or so. I slunched in my seat every class about mid-way through the seating. With alphabetical order seating all through high school, I've had enough of the front row.

One day the professor presented us with a situation. We owned a business and made a product that became very popular. Now what would our reaction be to this popularity, he asked? Would we raise our prices for the product? Or would we lower our prices for the product?

Suddenly he pointed at me and said, "Mr. Albert?"

Dang! He probably didn't like my slouching.

I thought about his question for a second, and I answered, "Well I guess if my product is popular I can afford to give my customers a break and lower prices."

"NO!" he screamed. "Please see me after class."

Oh man.

I met him after class and he gave me a little mini-lecture on how American economics work. If your product is popular, he explained, than you charge more because there will be more demand. It's all about suppy and demand, he said to my face of stone. He suggested we have a couple of one on one sessions in his office to make sure I passed his class.

I did meet with him on several occasions. We talked about such enthralling topics as "guns and butter," evidently a financial term to express the two different sides of spending.

I did fine in the class. I think I got a "B." Maybe it was a "C." I know it wasn't an "A."

But my mind still doesn't wrap around the ideals of American economics. To me it's just greed. If I had more money than I needed I would share it. I really don't have the killer instinct in the first place to want more, more, more.

I guess that makes me a poor example of an American. But I'm just hoping that it makes me a good example of a human being.