In this very special episode of Common Sense Soapbox, Bob finds himself hundreds of years in the future in the introduction of a 10-part series.

Bob wakes up in shock to find that he is, indeed, still in the future and ready to experience "Bob to the Future, Part II: Groups are Individuals Too". Now that he and Charlie made it to the hospital, she helps him understand the most basic fact of economics: Only individuals act.

Bob gets a job as a taste-tester so he can get enough capital to start his own business, and learns that his skills at the company fill just some of the many valuable roles necessary to make the business work. Division of labor and trade are critical to technological development and economic progress for whole civilizations and without it, people would still be stuck in the stone age.

Bob is now pixelated but still confused about why, in this ultra-advanced future society, people still have to pay money for health care. In "Bob to the Future Part III: Scarcity Is Real and Not Going Away" our intrepid hero learns the importance of allocating resources... from a chicken.

At the Hall o' Grams, Bob learns an important lesson about what things are actually worth. Is it how

Bob is super-excited about Roberto's plans for a restaurant until he learns Roberto needs capital investment, not Hall o' Gram tokens. But what is this "capital" throwing a taco wrench in the works?

It might seem really simple, but for all the hate the concept of money gets, it's actually incredibly important to a functioning economy because it solves several fundamental problems for people trying to get what they want, starting with the "double coincidence of wants". In a barter system, both you *and* the person you're hoping to trade with have to want what each other has at the same time. But most of the time, that doesn't happen. Money makes it possible for you to get what you need without needing to have *exactly* what someone else wants.

Bob can't get anyone to trade him technology for ripened taco meat, but he's still not sold on the use of money. After all, inflation steals some of the value of money over time. But is that a problem inherent in money, or is it because of governments poof-ing money into existence to pay for things they can't actually afford?

After finally getting what he needs to start his new tech company, Bob is ready to unveil and sell his new, fantastic invention: the Bore-No-More. But how much will this amazing device cost?

Bob's journey has taken him from being an economic ignoramus to becoming a wealthy, self-made entrepreneur. It took a long time, but all he ever really had to do was listen to what other people wanted and use his ideas, talents, skills, and resources to give them something they actually valued. The Bore-No-More King finally made it. But now, he misses his friends from the past and concocts a new plan to rub his success in their faces.

Bob announced that he's returning to the past using his newest invention! But what will he find? What will he do? What has Seamus been doing? WHAT ABOUT PENGUIN?? Find out in this final episode of Common Sense Soapbox: Bob to the Future!