Sixth Grade
Worksheets
You, the Consumer
Every time you buy something, you are sending a message. The message is "This is a good product; keep making it." Whenever you buy food, snacks, music, clothing, or other items, you send a message to producers to use the resources out there for the things you like best.
You are already an important part of the economy. You may make money by doing chores. Some of you may already have part-time jobs. When you use your money to buy something to use yourself, you are a consumer. The economy depends on consumer purchases to keep going. If everyone all of a sudden decided not to buy things anymore, the economy would stop.
All of us use goods and services. Through time, economic systems have developed to meet individuals' needs for food, clothing, shelter, entertainment, medical care, and the many other things that people buy. Economic systems evolved to serve consumers.
Consumers can be people like you. Consumers can also be businesses and governments. Businesses that use resources such as wood, steel, or energy to make products are consumers of those resources. Government agencies also purchase goods and services.
Economic systems exist to answer three questions. First, what will be produced? Next, what land, labor, raw materials, and machines will be used in production? And third, who will receive the goods and services produced?
