Understanding Economics

When you have a three year old, you can never be quite sure how they will digest the things that you are trying to explain to them. In this house, The Bean has broken down all things economic, from the economic world of our home right up to global economics, into... wait for it.....bubble gum. Yes folks the financial world turns according to who wants and needs bubble gum and who has the rights to the bubble gum.
Leslie was having to explain to Evelyn WHY he had to go to work and the conversation sounded something like this:
B: Papa, why do you just have to go to work all of the time?
L: Well, Ev, when I go to work, they give me money for being there. That's the money that we use for the things we need and want, like our house, food, the cars, clothes, toys...
B: and Bubblegum!
L: (chuckling) and bubblegum, yeah.

I though that this was a fluke, a one time thing but since then, there have been several conversations about the global acquisition of bubblegum and how that relates to money. I wish that I could remember them all because they are all funny! But, seriously, when your three year old starts wondering if the kids in Africa have bubblegum how do you break the news that they barely have water and food? (The answer is that you don't, you tell her that yes, even in Africa, the kids have bubblegum too.) Just yesterday I was informed that Bean needed a job to go to every day because she was running low on bubblegum (I checked, she has two nearly full packs and then an additional 8 pieces of Fruit Stripes left from Easter- so I am not sure how much bubblegum is needed to feel financially secure, but at this point, it's definitely more than those two packs) and needed "the cash" to get some more, then she asked if going to school would count for getting cash!
She has been obsessed with gum for awhile (thanks Dad) and this is perfect for illustrating how much she thinks about gum and asks for gum and worries about the supply.

She needs a hobby.

Really.