Our Economy: How It Works, What It Provides

Alex Gustafson

January 23rd, 2015

Our Economy: Everything Works Together (Except

When It Doesn’t)Alex Gustafson

January 23rd, 2015

Who Am I?

• BSBA in Marketing from the University of Louisville

• Since 2010 worked for mobile software, digital media & advertising, and

web development

• Currently working for Automattic, makers of WordPress.com

• Host trivia nights locally

• These slides available at alexjgustafson.wordpress.com/economy

Who Am I, again?

Why am I here?To share the good news. :)

“When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and you're life is just to live

your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. That's a very

limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you

that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own

things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again.”

Steve Jobs

Nothing is Official

Government is a factor in any economy, not its creator (except when it is)

Consumers must demand and purchase (except when they don’t)

Producers must create and supply (or else)

There is always room for innovation, and everyone must accept change

Consumers

• In today’s US economy, two-thirds of our nation’s total economic output

consists of goods and services bought by individuals and households for

personal use.

• Of that spending, about 80% is necessities like housing, utilities, food,

healthcare, and clothing.

• The other end of it? “The Paradox of Thrift”

Producers

If it adds value or helps to keep value moving, it’s a producer:

• Workers and Employees

• Managers

• Investors

• Brokers

• Entrepreneurs

Signals

• Credit (consumer debt) and savings

• The Consumer Price Index

• Porter’s Five Forces helps suppliers (more on that in a second)

• Employment and Productivity

Productivity

• People

• Capital

• Technology

• Organization

• Government Regulation

• Working environment

Balance

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Porter’s Five Forces

"Elements of Industry Structure" by Denis Fadeev - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elements_of_Industry_Structure.svg#mediaviewer/File:Elements_of_Industry_Structure.svg

Parting Thoughts

• Your consumer behavior impacts your productivity far more than the

signals of consumers as a whole

• Be more than one kind of producer

• Never take any expert’s claim on the economy at face value

Question?

These slides available at alexjgustafson.wordpress.com/economy