Link to Obama’s Speech
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/01/22/us/politics/22obama-inaugural-speech-annotated.html?ref=politics#/?annotation=eee043bb8
Read for Day #2 Econ. Pay attention to everything that has to do with the economy. We will go over the current event assignment using this as the sample.
Directions for the Presentation during the Final Exam Period
- No boring presentations- if it is not interesting to you, it will not be interesting to us. Please only tell us a few interesting findings from your research. Do not tell us everything. You will have 3-5 minutes to present.
- No repeats- many of you have similar topics, you may not repeat what another presenter has said. Please offer unique, interesting and original information about your topic.
- You must provide a visual- in the same vein as the current event visual requirement; you must provide a visual to engage your audience, make the information accessible and add relevance to your topic. If you would like to use the computer to show the visual, you must email the link or the .ppt to me by 5pm the night before the final.
Macro Review Problem Set
Calculate and Compare the following:
- Compare total tax they pay as individuals and total tax they would pay if they are married.
- Female making $15,000
i. Individual tax =
- Male making $7,000
i. Individual tax =
- Total Tax paid if they got married?
- How does the Fed expand/contract the money Suppy?
- If I deposit $10,000 in the bank and the reserve requirement is 10%. How much money will be created?
- How much will an individual pay in taxes on $50,000? What is their marginal tax? Average tax? What if they get married?
- What was the general philosophy of the Bush Tax Reform? How was it accomplished? Give specifics?
- What is a capital gains tax?
- How does the estate tax work? Is this fair?
- Who benefits from inflation? Who is hurt?
- What caused the recent financial crisis?
- Indicate the labor force status of the following persons:
- A doctor who is too sick to work
- A mechanic who could not find a job needing his skills and is waiting for the economy to improve before he looks for work again.
- A full time student
- A laid off steel worker waiting to return to work
- A laid off executive who is making ends meet by working at a car wash
- What does a price index of 180 mean? How much have prices increased since the base year?
- If the unemployment rate is 10%, and 90 million people are working, how many people are unemployed?
- Why does an improvement in quality cause a price index to overstate how much prices have gone up?
- If inflation continues for 10 years at a 6% rate, by how much will prices increase?
- Name and explain two major arguments for and against increasing the minimum wage. Take inflation into consideration. Does a minimum wage create a surplus of workers?
- Why has the power of unions declined in the last 30 years? Three reasons. Think Roger & Me.
- What determines a wage and who makes what?
- How can an employer tell if it is paying its workers too little, too much (compared with other firms)?
- How do union wages affect nonunion wages?
- Why does a barber in India make less than a barber in the U.S.?
- Why do graduate school applications go up during a recession?
- Why would unions not want to force wages too high?
New op/ed piece on the cost of food from Mark Bittman
Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? |
The “fact” that junk food is cheaper than real food has become a reflexive part of how we explain why so many Americans are overweight, particularly those with lower incomes. As I write in the Sunday Review, chips really aren’t cheaper than broccoli. It’s a myth. So what’s stopping people from eating more healthfully?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper.html
