During the holiday season, shoppers descend on this store en masse, ready to buy if the price is fair. The producers of every item try to predict what the shoppers want and what theyll pay. Supply and demand what sets the price . Economic analyst richard gill and i will examine that on this edition of economics usa. Im david schoumacher. Rarely have americans had to worry about water. They take it for granted because its plentiful, available, and cheap. But for what water does, there is no substitute. What would it take to show how much water is really worth . 1975 marked the beginning of one of californias worst droughts. Its a semiarid state with a gigantic agricultural industry, dependent on water from its snow pack and winter rains. But in the fall and winter of 1975, winter rains and snow did not come. Accustomed to dry spells, californians showed little concern. But that winter wore on with no rain or snow, and soon, what was great weather for some began causing problems for othe
Our real income r peon has tripled. Can we keep up the pace . Our wi the help of ast richard gill well examine at question othe improvement in our standard ofiving can ie our Economic Growth since 1900. Average woers enjoythree times. Alofs because of a continuing increase in productivity, the engine of growth. A productivity revolutionto. In the Auto Industry, how did it begin . Why was it successful . Turn of the century autos were playthings of t rich. Their purpose was not wholly clear. Peaps. Certainly, Auto Industry growth was static. Doze of models designed and produced diffently the culminationof9tceur. With buyers like astors, vanderbis, the culminationof9tceur. Whitneys, and winthrops setting the fashion, 5,000 a car 50,000 in todays dollars seemed nothing extraordinary. In a michigan machine shop, there was another idea. Could you get a car for under 1,000 . In905, most of these cars we around 2,000. Henry forda nior partner, in90oposed less expensive we arounmodel n. His Se
Hard times. Weve seen a lot of them over the years. 1932 and the years that followed were different. The Hoover Administration tried to popularize the word depression. They thought it a milder word that would soothe the american public. By 1932, hope was about gone. The depression was more than an economic problem. It was human calamity. Millions went hungry, some to starvation. Proud people begged on street corners asking for pennies to feed their children, for jobs that no longer existed. The economic devastation seemed total. Things couldnt possibly get worse, and yet they did. Over 4,000 banks failed. The value of stocks dropped from 89 billion to 15 billion. National income dropped. Investment, savings, consumption everything plummeted. 14 million people, 1 4 of the work force were without jobs. The agricultural economy, a refuge in earlier depressions, suffered during the 1920s then collapsed in the 1930s. Nothing seemed to halt the downward spiral. How did people respond . Eric
Annenberg media eeper into still another recession people despair and ask why is the economy so unstable . The Business Cycle proves capitalism has failed, according to karl marx but Joseph Schumpeter sees these cycles as proof of the glorious success of capitalism. Is either man right . 1929 is the year of collision between 19thcentury economic theory and 20thcentury economic reality. Out of the crash John Maynard Keynes provides a new theory of the Business Cycle. What was his revolutionary idea . Boom and bust who can explain the Business Cycle . With the help of richard gill, well explore that question on this edition of economics usa. Im david schoumacher. Boom or bust . Why is the economy so unstable . Factories sit idle or stagger along because nobody has any money to spend. Workers sit home without any money to spend hoping the economy gets better so they can work again. Its a pattern that repeats itself over and over again. Few people worried about trying to explain economic f
Should the Government Institute total controls . What are the dangers of a wellintentioned Price Control Program once it becomes entrenched . Controls are to a politician like catnip to a cat. The politicians, in the end have very great difficulty resisting. Economic efficiency what price, controls . With the help of economic analyst richard gill, well examine that question on economics usa. Im David Schoumacher. [loudspeaker] we got bargains over here we have bargains over here come on, girls. Dont be shy. Check it out. Come on. Pick em out. They all are cashmere. Everyone enjoys the ritual and the give and take in a market like this one. It is a demonstration in its purest form of the freemarket Pricing System. Consumers take the lead in this commercial dance looking for the best deal. The merchants follow their lead, the joking not quite masking the intensity. How much are they willing to pay . Take less profit or lose the sale . Its an openair demonstration of economic efficiency.