Developing Business and Community Leaders for Tomorrow. American Private Enterprise System College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

Developing Business and Community Leaders for Tomorrow. Our Economy- How It Works, What It Provides Section II

Consumers Play an Important Role in Economy  While members of all three groups—consumers, producers, and government—make decisions in our economic system, the key role that really makes everything work is played by you in your role as a consumer.

Our Economy, How It Works and What It Provides??  Consumers - Today, almost two-thirds of our nation’s total economic output consists of goods and services bought by individuals and households for personal us  Supply and Demand  Supply: The amount of some product which is available to customers  Demand: Our willingness and ability to spend our money for certain goods and services (price, quality, and availability of goods and services)  Credit and Savings  Producers

How the Work Force Is Being Transformed  Men and women in the workforce do far more than earn a livelihood.  Both consumers and producers of goods and services are sources of both the supply and the demand that drive the nations commerce  Nation Labor Force undergoing important changes  Wages and salary  Matching up jobs with qualified workers (Supply and demand)  Labor surplus

Changing Workplace  36% of the labor force hold manufacturing jobs  65% Service occupants- largest share  U.S. labor force growing rank of female workers

How Our Economy Fits Together  “Gigantic Machine”  Supply, Demand, Prices  Affect the wages we are paid  Cost of producing it and the selling price  Profit Margin- buyers are willing to pay more for a product than it costs to produce it

Competition  Key importance in the American economic system  Competition between producers  Competition causes our economy to change constantly

Productivity  People- their skills, efforts, and motivations  Capital resources- the availability and efficiency of factories and equipment  Technology- the application of sciences to industrial needs, involving new materials, new methods, and advanced processes  Organization- the effectiveness of management in combining resources  Government regulation- the imposition of standards and restrictions  Working environment- as it relates to both health and work attitudes

Balancing the Economy  Law of supply and demand  Determine levels of production and employment in our economy  Production goes down unemployment rise  Purchases increase, demand results in business expansion and higher employment  Employment Act of 1946

Pay Day!!! Ready???!

Thank you! Want to thank you for participating in the American Private Enterprise Program and being a Future Leader in your Community!! We look forward to seeing you at the Kentucky Youth Seminar this summer…..