Production Possibilities

When I look at a production possibilities graph there is a few things that come to mind. First I see a give and take relationship that is a bit of a balancing act to get right. There is a lot of factors that can come in to play when comparing even two items for production possibilities. When looking at capital goods versus consumer goods it is clear that some sacrifice earlier really pays off later. But this is not the society that we live in now so much, its constantly said now that in North America we live in a consumer based economy. This is evident when looking back at the financial crisis of 2008 where everyone was told the best way out, was to keep spending and buying consumer goods.


An economy can produce multiple items but not all at the same efficiency. We only have a limited workforce and in that workforce not everyone is as qualified, trained, and capable of doing all tasks. Makes throwing man power at producing items noneffective beyond a certain point. Where I work in the oilsands it wouldn't be good to haul and crush more material that can be efficiently produced. Also only a given percentage is close enough to the surface to be worth accessing by traditional mining. That is not to say that with more effort in removing over burden more oilsands couldn't be accessed, but cost of running the extra equipment and man power when compared possible profit doesn't make sense. On the other hand if you don't move enough product you may not be able to pay for the overhead cost, hence the balance act.


In my life there has been lots of choices, but of the more recent was the choice to move and work in Fort McMurray. Some of the negative trade offs here can be: my health from working shift work with poor sleep patterns, contact with carcinogens and pollutants in the air I breath. Now there are a few positives here also, such as: reasonable monetary compensation, working 7 on 7 off, and hopefully some room for advancement. I find that now doing online courses probably takes me more time than it should. Putting my thoughts on paper never been my strongest point, so hopefully this course will help and I will become quicker and be able to return to the gym some nights.