Article: Saint Paul Pioneer Press, Minn., Real World Economics Column.

By Edward Lotterman, Saint Paul Pioneer Press, Minn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Aug. 24--Most people in the United States enjoy an abundance of useful goods and services -- more than nearly any other human who ever lived on Earth. Unfortunately, human nature is such that we do not appreciate this, nor does abundance necessarily make us feel happy.

I was reminded of this early Wednesday morning when the welcome sound (though momentary) of a hard rain swept across my roof.

As a farm boy who grew up in a dry corner of Minnesota, summer rains are instinctively welcome to me. But most of us do not connect July or August rains with plentitude or scarcity in our daily lives. …

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