Shortage Economy
One motto from the depression-era and really for all times is:
"No Profit Without Shortage"
You might have also heard:
"Profit is a function of supply and demand"
The point is that by having a shortage or smaller supply of something, profit will be higher.
There are two kinds of shortages:
-- shortages you like (profit from)
-- shortages you don't like (suffer from)
If you have a business, a skill, or assets (real estate, commodities, stocks, bitcoin), then you want a shortage in whatever you own so your profit might be larger. These are the shortages you like...
If you have to pay prices that seem unreasonable or painful, then often the shortage is the result of shortage-creating laws and lack of competition. These are the shortages you do not like...
Sometimes a shortage makes you feel like you have become a victim. Look out for the predator/victim relationship...
An old-time saying is:
"if something does not make any sense to you, it is often because someone figured out how to make money from it."