Economics for an individual, business, industry or government is much like the seasons of the year. In the Spring, or at the start, we are all excited. We work hard, earn money, save money, and everything is good. Then it is harvest time or Summer. We have all this money we have been working so hard for, and now we need some time for recreation. That means spending money to play; we’re not saving now. Playing means less time to work, so we’re earning less, but everything is great and we are really having fun. Then Fall rolls around. We are having so much fun, except now we are out of money. That doesn’t matter, we can borrow more money and keep having fun and work even less. Then comes Winter, that cold hard time when they will loan us no more money and even expect what has been borrowed to be paid back. This is when it is the worst it has ever been, and we just can’t wait for Spring when it will be exciting to go back to work, work hard, earn money, save money, and have everything be good again.
Of course it would have been possible to stay in Spring all of the time. There is something about people who seem to prefer to have the four seasons, even long hard winters sometimes.
— Bud Williams
