Economics is best described as the proper allocation of limited resources to man's unlimited wants and needs.
I think it's important to reiterate that man has unlimited wants and needs for this post. I for one, should admit that I never seem to get satisfied with whatever I have. When I graduated from high school to college, I asked for an allowance increase. When I got that increase, I told my parents the increase is not enough. When I got my job, I got a decent pay. And now, what I earn still seem to be insufficient. This could best be explained by the income effect wherein our expenses increase with respect to our income. I also think that this has something to do with the nature of our expenses. Surely, our expenses are very different from 5 years ago?
As opposed to my header, I will not dwell much into man's satisfaction as to man's DISSATISFACTION. If truth be told, man will never be satisfied BECAUSE he has unlimited wants and needs. So, I guess the challenge is not so much on satisfying man. The challenge that our insatiable wants pose is: How could we minimize dissatisfaction?"
Let me cite a concrete example and sadly, I am part of this example:
A couple of months ago, a lot of us were complaining about the workload. There really is just too much work being given to us and we do not have enough time to finish them. We have migrated a lot of processes to the other teams during the re-organization. So strictly speaking, a significant chunk of our day-to-day activities has been lessened. I for one could find time to read the news for twenty minutes after I take my lunch (But I rarely consume my whole hour for lunch). It helps that I stopped smoking (saves me 20-40 minutes a day). I rarely render overtime work now. Now I realize I don't have as much money as I used to make. But it's ok! Because now, I feel less burdened. I am not as stressed. However it sickens me when some people still complain about work. I do not get it! Our work is a little bit lighter; we are less stressed and people are still complaining about the exact same things???
What happened in the past, was unjust. In fact, it was inhumane. And up to now, I think some teams do not share the same good fate that we have in our team. It is just a tad irritating when people complain even if measures were made to make our lives easier. Apologies. I digressed too much.
Going back to the topic of minimizing dissatisfaction, I firmly believe that minimizing dissatisfaction should not come from lowering people's expectations so they become complacent and are easier to please. I believe that the key is having a completely transparent understanding of what people are in for and staying true to promises. In every agreement, both parties should set a common goal and both parties should deliver. I cannot stress this enough. Both parties should set a common goal and both parties should deliver!
Let me share to you some quotes that pertain to this topic:
"If the blanket is too small, you bend your legs so you would fit."
- While it is true that we should make use of the current resources that we have; I think it best that though we should bend our legs for the time being, we could look into our options on how we could get a bigger blanket for the future!
"Money does not solve your problems. It never does!"
- Relatively speaking, yes. Money does not solve all our problems. The more money we have, the more we spend. However, I really think there is an income floor for this. Up to a certain level, additional money won't really help. But what about those who earn 100 pesos a day with 5 mouths to feed? Surely, acquiring more money would help? I do think that if you're single with no familial obligation whatsoever, a net income of 30k pesos should suffice. Everything else is extra (for savings, car, vacation, etc.)
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