Free Market Economy in the United States
By: Kirsten Schwandtner
America has been hit pretty hard in “the eye” these past couple of years. America has a Red, White, and Blue “black eye” that needs to be healed. With war and government shutdown happening here and there it is just making the eye swell even more. We all need to work together to heal our country and to bring our country bake to its former glory. Free Market Economy has been an ice pack to our countries” black eye” and has helped lead our country in the direction to become the once great country again. Free Market is basically based on the supply and demand of an object with little to no government involvement.
Producers and Consumers
In the US today goods are produced and consumed daily. Consumers are the people that buy the goods and services. Producers are the people that supply the goods and services for the people. (Economics 60-61) Prices of objects rise when there is more of a demand for the object and when there is not much of a demand for the object the price goes down. (Free Trade 499-500) Today a good example of prices dropping in relation to supply and demand is for the apple Iphones. A lot people want the best and the newest technology in the Iphone, Iphone 5c and Iphone 5s, which make the prices these phones skyrocket. The Iphone 5c and 5s have limited availability, which make people want them more, so they are willing to pay more. On the other side the older Iphones have dropped in price and are readily available. Also by having Free Market Economy in the US it allows people in America to buy goods from other countries that wouldn’t be available if we didn’t have Free Market Economy.
Profit and Competition
When you are buying a product you are always hunting and looking for the best deal. You may notice that all of the stores are always lowering their prices to out due their competitors. This is known as profit motivation or simply just competition. Competition is good for the people because it gets us the best deal possible. Competition between two different producers/vendors can make the vendors compete for the best price to attract the most people. ((1) Rothbard) When buying both the consumer and the producer benefit from the sale. The producer gets the money for the object and the consumer gets the good/service they want for the best price possible. ((2) Rothbard) For example, if I was looking to buy a loaf of bread and I am looking around town for the store with the best deal. If I see a store with bread for $2.50 and another store with the same loaf of bread for $1.60 I would rater go to the store with the same bread but for a better deal. This holds true today for everything such as cars, boats, and even lawn mowers.
Incentive
Two thirds of the products consumed in the United States today are bought for personal use with the remaining products being provided by the government. Consumers look for the best incentive to buy a product based on product quality, reliability and safety. Producers of goods and services look to make products of the highest quality for the low price in order to sell more products. So consumers and producer have different incentives when it comes to supply and demand of products. (How the United States Economy Works) Many small business owners, such as my grandfather, use incentives to keep their business booming. He would offer a special during holidays to customers to get them to come and spend their money. The quality of his service, reliability and safety of his product did not change with the offered incentive, so it gave customers more of incentive to purchase his service. Incentive are used in every business no matter how big or small, and will help the economy flourish.
Mixed Market
Free Market is seen in the United States but is considered a mixed market. Being a mixed market means that in America we have the freedom to buy and sell what we want, but our government is still involved in guiding and regulating our economy. This is considered a mixed market because we have a regular economic system intertwined with that of a free market economy. The idea of how much the government should be involved has always been controversial. The people used to not like the government involved in the economics. Now days it is expected by our generation for the government to be involved in the economics. (How the United States Economy Works) I personally believe there is a balance between the government and a free market and it healthy for our economy allowing us to prosper and excel as country.
Free Market Economy may not be liked by everyone but it has helped our country flourish. It will be used in our economic system for many years to come. With war and government shutdowns happening left and right it has been good for the American people to rely on something familiar such as Free Market Economy. The Free Market Economy in the United States has provided many opportunities for consumers and producer to grow and make profits. The competition provides us with the opportunity to buy goods at a better deal as we try to get the best value and quality for our money. Overall, the United States has always had a Free Market with a varying and controversial regulation from the Government.
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