How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes

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S H A R I N G   T H E   W E A L T H
Charlie concurred, “Share the wealth, elitist!” 
Or, what about this scenario:
Let’s suppose Able, feeling somewhat guilty about his 
comparative wealth, was swayed by their arguments and gave 
away his fi sh, asking for nothing in return. What would Baker 
and Charlie do with the extra fi sh?
If they were free from the burden of repayment, they would 
most likely use the gift to increase their leisure time. And 
while there is nothing inherently wrong with leisure (in fact, 
it is the goal of most human activity), Baker and Charlie’s 
vacation would not increase the island’s productive capacity 
by a herring. And so while the 
charity option sounds more 
magnanimous, and may improve 
Able’s popularity, 
it doesn’t provide 
the economic 
boost that 
a business 
loan would. 

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