Pete the Planner's Supply and Demand Rube Goldberg

Written by
Peter Dunn
soulplane-godfrey-snoop_1085713680

I've been driving a ton recently. This is quite unusual for me these days. My office is in my neighborhood, and I usually walk to work. Living that close to work not only is convenient, but I save serious money on fuel. I have been somewhat immune to the recent rise in fuel prices. But when I was putting in my 6th hour of driving (for the week) yesterday, my mind started to wonder. I decided to use my knowledge of economics to track the path of particular industries as a related to increases in oil prices. Yeah, I'm a hell of a lot of fun to be around. Anyway, I came up with this following scenario. I thought it was interesting, so here you go:

  • Oil is expensive for lots of political reasons.
  • Therefore jetfuel prices are high
  • Therefore airlines profit margins shrink
  • Therefore some airlines go out of business
  • Therefore other airlines have less competition
  • Therefore they raise prices
  • Therefore less people fly
  • Therefore less people vacation
  • Therefore people are more stressed
  • And tourist destination cities lose money
  • Therefore businesses in those cities lose money
  • Therefore they lay off their already stressed out workers
  • Therefore people have less money to live on
  • Therefore they don't even drive due to high gas prices
  • Therefore fuel demand decreases
  • Therefore fuel prices fall
  • Therefore jetfuel prices fall
  • Therefore airline ticket prices will fall
  • Therefore people will be able to afford tickets
  • Therefore airlines will have more flights
  • Therefore they will hire more people
  • Therefore they will raise ticket prices

I literally went through this exercise for an hour. My point? I was hoping that you could tell ME my point. Kidding. My point is that this is the natural course of supply and demand. It is long and involved. If anyone (government) steps in during the process, then the entire process gets thrown off its natural path. Supply and demand are the ultimate economic forces. They will eventually balance out. I was against Cash for Clunkers. I was against the New Homebuyer Tax Credit. And I'm against opening up the oil reserves. Tinkering with demand always jacks up the economy worse.

What do you think?

Step up your financial wellness game.

Stay up-to-date with the latest in employee wellbeing from the desk of Pete the Planner®. Subscribe to the monthly newsletter to get industry insights and proven strategies on how to be the wellness champion your team wants you to be.