Presentation about scarcity and opportunity cost.

1. Government Decision
Making

2. Economics
• The study of how people deal with meeting
unlimited wants and needs with limited
resources.
• Key Terms:
1.Scarcity
2.Opportunity Cost

3. Scarcity
• The idea that there aren’t enough
resources, time or energy to meet all the
needs.
• What forces us to make choices--A or B?
• Example:
• We don’t have enough time to play video
games and do homework.

4. Opportunity Cost
• A trade-off.
• What we lose when we choose to do one
thing instead of another.
• Examples:
• We go to the movies instead of going
bowling.

6. Goals of USA
• General welfare of people
• Equity - redistributing wealth in order to be fair.
• Safety and health
• Protect the environment
• maintain undeveloped land
• Economic security
• full employment / job training
• minimum wage to keep up with inflation

7. Inflation
• A rise in the price level
• Goods costs more today than they did
years ago
• Wages generally do not keep up with
inflation