Lesson 5

Run time - 40 Minutes

Chapter 13

Debt

As we delve into the first “E” of economy, we have to start our inquiry with debt. Simply put, debt is a claim on future human labor.  It turns out we can learn a lot about the extent of the predicament we’re in and gather hints at the timing of when things may unfold by looking at our historically unprecedented current level of debt.

Chapter 14

Assets & Liabilities

To get the full picture of the economy, we also have to consider assets and liabilities alongside levels of debt.  But we must understand that debts are fixed whereas assets are variable, sometimes gaining and sometimes losing value.  Let’s put the pieces of the economic puzzle together…

Chapter 15

Demographics

The age structure of a population and how it interacts with the job market, pensions, and entitlement programs matters a great deal in securing prosperity – or not – across generations.