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Why Kids Don't Understand "Lemonade Stand" Economics

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Death of Lemonade Stand Economics: When I was a kid, a lemonade stand was a great way to teach kids about economics. It was the quintessential example of Capitalism, and taught kids about expenses, revenue, and profits.

After some marketing and hard work, you could see how running a successful "business" meant money in the bank which could be saved and earn interest. (Interest... What's that?)

Today's economy is a lot different. While "profits" are still the goal, they seem to be running a distant second in value to a business' "disruptive quality," and growing big through debt.

Examples are: Tesla, Uber, and Snapchat. These are billion-dollar companies that lose billions of dollars a year, but are today's hottest investments.

In fact, there's really no concern among investors as they may never be profitable, as they burn through money and lose $2 for every $1 of revenue.

So, what happened to "lemonade stand economics" when profit mattered?

Things have really changed now that the idea of making a profit at the end of the day seems almost quaint and old fashioned. This new emphasis on "disruption" over profit is probably why the stock market has never been more expensive, and most economists now claim that valuation doesn't even matter.

Maybe that's why Bitcoin is now worth more than gold? It's also probably why American households have never been further in debt, because, who cares, right?

So, should I still try to teach my kids about a lemonade stand? Unfortunately, I think they would better understand putting videos of themselves goofing around on Youtube and wait for the followers to start piling up.

Who cares about a small business plan, just record yourself playing Fortnight or blowing something up, and surely a crowd of zombies will gather to stare and click their "like" buttons.

Anyway, I look forward to a time when people value the old-fashioned value of a successful lemonade stand again. When that day comes, I also hope that my kids can put the hard-earned profits into a savings account that makes more than the current 0.75% going rate!

Does anybody else yearn for the good old days when the economy made sense? Or, maybe I'm just showing my age, and next I'll be yelling at neighborhood kids to "get off my lawn!"

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