this is where public sector jobs do not usually even get a rank, because they do not produce anything. And then you discover all the hidden government employees, people whose jobs exist because they help people avoid running afoul of the state.
taxation is like friction. It increases the threshold of demand necessary for two people to do business. But the market will continue. However, regulation puts the brakes on production, which has to occur before a transaction is made. Even if it is a time transaction where someone puts a deposit on goods that are yet to be produced, the transaction will not occur if a law-abiding producer discovers regulatory inhibition. Therefore production is a necessary prerequisite for exchange. And regulation inhibits production. So the combination of regulation and taxation strangles and smothers the production class, the effect of which is to decrease the supply of consumer goods. Since everyone is a consumer, everyone feels the crunch. In an economy with specialized labor and industry, the production class is too big to simply barter each other into prosperity and simply allow the parasites to do without.
what resources, besides maslow's hierarchy, do you think would be useful in evaluating these industries against an economy in a downward spiral?
"what resources, besides maslow's hierarchy, do you think would be useful in evaluating these industries against an economy in a downward spiral?"
Their profitability, that is to say how well they satisfy consumer demand
I would like to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Do you think there will be a large market for gourmet chocolate in 18 months? Right now chocolate is doing well, or so I hear
Unless you can predict what individuals will want most 18 months in the future you can't answer your question with certainty.