how do you calculate a surplus 
surplus is the amount of an asset or resource that exceeds the portion that is utilized to calculate consumer surplus for example just subtract the actual price the consumer paid from the amount they were willing to pay the bottom linea surplus generally speaking occurs when there is more of something than is needed at first glance that might sound like a positive for everyone however in reality when there s a disconnect between supply and demand somebody inevitably suffers and it doesn t always end well for example when a business has excess stock and is forced to cut prices to offload what it cannot sell its profits tighten and its stakeholders suffer while consumers happily capitalize conversely a producer surplus works the other way around benefiting the business and squeezing the income of consumers ideally a balance is struck to keep all parties happy sometimes market dynamics can stray though and even lead to a nasty recession if equilibrium isn t restored in time 