Thoughts on a Free Market Economy…
“Economics….Who Needs It?”
By Phyllis Hunsinger
March 1, 2017

Actually everyone needs to understand the economic principles that guide our lives. High school graduates are quickly tasked with many, life-shaping questions: Do I go straight to work? Do I attend a Vocational Technical School or a College/University? Do I continue to live at home or find my own place? Should I buy a car and insurance? Do I save for my education or take out student loans? Can I balance a checkbook? Open a savings account? Complete a loan application?
In data from a 2015 U.S. government report, the average student loan debt was $35,000, up 76% since 2009; the average household credit card debt was $15,609; and, the average household mortgage debt was $156,706. Part of the problem is the ready availability of credit and the ease with which one can live above their means. Do you suppose there is another reason? Could it be that many young people are graduating or have graduated without a critical awareness of the basic principles of economics?
Economics is about earning and spending money; using resources to satisfy needs and wants; growing businesses, savings accounts, interest rates, credit cards, taxes, insurance; and, economic policies that shape our country and other countries around the world. Concepts like free markets, supply and demand, property rights, market competition, voluntary exchange, self-interest, scarcity, choice, innovation, and entrepreneurship are an integral part of economic education.
Understanding economic principles helps citizens make more informed choices not only with their own lives but also as a voting member of society. Citizens with a solid knowledge of economic principles know that the government has no way of acquiring money except by printing money in the case of the federal government or taking money from its citizens through taxation. Economically savvy citizens recognize the importance of private enterprise and understand a healthy economy requires all able-bodied individuals, not just a few, to work and pay taxes.
So who needs Economics? Everyone! Make sure schools in your district require students to demonstrate economic proficiency for the good of all American citizens.

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