Imagine we give someone who is very busy and perpetually behind a gift of time: overdue obligations disappeared, all outstanding time commitments resolved. This formerly overwhelmed but now just very busy person might stay ahead for a while. But eventually she, too, will likely slip up: an unexpected glitch on a large project, a medical setback at home, just plain lethargy and a momentary loss in productivity—and she suddenly finds herself behind again. Any slight instability is a threat hovering over a life lived at the edge of a scarcity trap, because with little slack to absorb it,
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