OK, so i think i'm going to turn my Real Talk blog/rant things into an ongoing info dump so that I hope everyone can be smarter some day. This is not to say that I am some highly intelligent individual (which I like to think that I am, but I could be wrong), but that hopefully I can enlighten the many young people that follow me, and hopefully encourage them to think.

So in this Real Talk segment, I'd like to strike a more lighthearted note.

You've probably all heard that the greedy corporations just want to screw us out of all of our money, and enslave every employee who works for them, while simultaneously making themselves fat with gluttony and money.

You're partially right. A tiny tiny sliver of truth often breeds a wealth of exaggeration. Corporations ARE greedy. It's true. They want to make as much money as possible. But is this a bad thing? What if I told you that YOU in fact, are greedy as well? PBF! It can't be true. Yes, it is.

When you pay a price for something, be it a candy bar, a car, or an application for your smartphone, you're engaging in (some form of) free exchange (an exception would be government mandated health insurance, but I digress).

But where do those prices come from? And what does it have to do with greed?

I'll tell you.

Suppose you wish to sell some Coca-cola to your classmates. If you had to pay $0.50 (50 cents) for a can, how much would you sell it for? Not less than 50 cents, because then you would be losing money (by all means, you can keep trying this strategy, but you'll soon run out of money to buy the coke with in the first place). You would want to sell the coke for at least 51 cents.

With your cost per individual coke at 50 cents, you would want to make as much money as possible. If the going price is just 51 cents, however, that's not a lot of money per coke, and you may decide it's not worth your time to sell so much of it, and so you would SUPPLY less. However, if other classmates are willing to give you $1 (a full whopping dollar) for your coke, you would try to sell as much as possible. Supplying more. So, Price and the Quantity Supplied are directly related. If you sold 10 cans of coke, you would earn $10, minus the $5 it took to buy them, making $5 for yourself in the process. You greedy bastard, you.

Now imagine your point of view from the reverse. Say a classmate comes into the classroom with Coca-cola. You like coke, so you ask "how much?" The classmate says "three dollars." Wow. That's a lot. Considering you know that if you just wait a little longer until after school, you can get the coke somewhere else for cheaper. So you decide to pass on the coke. Many other classmates would probably share the same sentiment as you, and there wouldn't be much DEMAND for the three dollar coke. However, if the seller returns the next day, and says the price is ONE dollar, you might decide that your dollar is worth the immediate gratification of the coke. At a lower price, more people DEMAND the coca cola. We see that Price and Quantity Demanded are INVERSELY related.

If you can imagine the prices, quantities supplied and demanded graphically, it creates two lines: one sloping upward (supply) and the other downward (demand). Where the two lines meet, is what is called the EQUILIBRIUM price, or where the seller and buyer mutually agree to exchange what they have for the benefit of both.

So how are you greedy if you're not the company, but the poor and helpless consumer? The answer is simple: you want what the seller is selling.

But, PBF, what does greed have to do with any of this?

Here is the golden answer: while greed could be classified as a selfish desire, just because you WANT something really badly doesn't mean it will automatically appear from the heavens. "Greedy" CEO's don't just wish their money into existence. They have to PROVIDE something to someone, who also has the greed to want what they have.

If the supplier and the buyer don't agree that the money given up in exchange for the product is fair, one party holds onto what they have. It is through this greed, want of money or things, that "greedy" people provide these things to one another, and that makes all of our lives better.

In short, of course CEO's are greedy. That's why you have the phone or laptop you're reading this on.