Week of April 27, 2015

We finished studying monetary policy right before vacation we will wrap up the year studying fiscal policy.

Due Wednesday
Chapter 14 (1)  What are taxes?
1.Look at the three types of tax sturctiures on page 360.  Identify the three types and and summarize their differences.
2. Which type of tax structure is identified on page 361.  Do you think this is fair?  Explain why.
3. Look at the cartoon on page 362.  Why are taxes necessary?
4. Look at the chart 14.3 on page 363.  What is the point of the chart?  Who do you think pays more taxes (incidence of tax) on an elastic demand : consumers or producers?  What about demand that is inelasitic:  consumers or producers?
Answer questions 3, 4, and 6 on page 363.

14(2) Federal taxes
1. Look at the Federal Income Tax Rates, 2003 (367).  Are these tax rates proportional or progressive?
2. Look at glogal connections (368)  What is a value added tax?  Would you recommend one for the US?  Why or why not?
3. What is a the point of the picture on 369? What is an incentive?
Answer questions #1-4 on page 369.

Read the profile on Henry J. Aaron. (370)
What is an entitlement?  Why does Aaron have major concerns about  Social Security?

Due Thursday:
14(3) Federal Spending
1. What is the point of the cartoon on page 374?
Answer questions 1-4 on page 374.

14(4) State and local taxes and spending
1. Why is the picture on page 375 in this section?
2. Look at the chart on page 376, What are three of the largest sources of state revenues in 2001, what are three of the largest state expenditures?
3. Look at picture on 377.  Should snow plowing be part of  a states operating or capital budget?
4.  Look at the fast fact on page 378.  Why do you think sales tax free NH has such high property tax rates?
Answer questions #1-4 on page 380.

Read real life case study (381)
How many tax cuts did President Bush pass?  Who do you think benefitted the most from these tax cuts?  Explain

Week of March 31, 2015

Chapter questions are due this Thursday.

Chapter 16:  The Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy
Please read the sections before you answer the questions assigned.

16(1)
1. Figure 16.1 (416), What percentage of bans are in the federal reserve system, and what percentage of bank deposits do they control?
2. Figure 16:2 (417) Identify the 12 Federal Reserve Bank cities.
3. What is the point of the fast fact (417)?
4. Answer questions 1-5  (odd/even) page 418

16(2)
1. Whose statue  do you think is on the north side of the Dept. of Treasury( 420)?
2. Figure 16.3 (421) What role does the Fed have in cashing checks?
3. Figure 16.4 (423) What happens to the money demand when interest rates increase?
4. Answer questions 1-6 (423) odd/even.

Read the biography of Alan Greenspan (424) bullet three facts about his life. Answer question 2.

16(3)
1. Figure 16.5 (426)  How do banks create money?
2. Figure 16.6  (427) What is the reserve ratio requirement?How can the Fed expand the money supply using this tool?
3. Figure 16.7  (428) What is the discount rate?  How can the Fed expand the money supply using this tool?
4. Figure 16.8 (428) What are open market operations?  How can the Fed expand the money supply using this tool?
5. Answer questions 1-8 (odd/even) page 429.

16(4)
1. Figure 16.10 (432) What are the effects of proper and improper timing of fed monetary
policies?
2. Answer questions 1-6 (odd/even) on page 434.

Week of March 16, 2017

Happy St. Patrick's Week.


13(1) Unemployment
Answer  Global connections question on page 335.
Questions 1-6 (odd/even) page 336

13(2) Inflation
What is a wage price spiral (page 342)?
Questions 1-6 (odd/even) page 343.

Read Oprah Winfrey (344)
Answer questions 1+2 (odd/even)

13(3) Poverty
Look at poverty rates by group ( 346) What race and gender  has the highest and lowest rates of poverty.
What does the Lorenz curve (348) show?
Questions 1-8 (350) odd/even
Questions 1+2 on page 351.

Week of February 23, 2015

Due Thursday

Due Thursday

Chapter 12: Gross Domestic Product and Growth

12 (1) p. 301  identify each of the key terms in 7 words or less for each term.

Look at the chart on page 302.  How does expenditure approach differ from income approach?

List 3 facts about the underground economy (p. 305)

Answer questions #1-7 on page 308  (odd/even)

12(2) p. 310   Identify the key terms in 7 words or less for each term.

What does the graph on page 312 show

What does the Global connection on page 314 show the relationship between?

What does the green flag on page 316 show?

Answer questions 1-5 on page 316 (odd/even)

Answer questions #1+2 on page  317

12(3)  Identify the key terms on page 318 in 7 words or less for each term.

How is capital deepening shown on the chart on page 322?

How does the fast fact on page 323 explain how innovations impact business efficiency?

Answer questions # 1-5 on page 324. (odd/even)

Answer questions 1+ 2 on page 325.

Chapter 4 homework

Economics Chapter 4                                                  Name____________________________

Chapter 4  Demand,  Why do you think the demand chapter precedes the supply chapter? _____________________________________________________________________________

4(1)  Group_______________________

4(2)  Group  _____________________

4(3)  Group  _____________________

Current   Events  Group  ________________________ 

4(1) Look at picture on 79.  Identify the Law of Demand  : 

price down, demand ______        ;  price up, demand ____________

Read fast fact (80)  identify 3 of your rights as an online shopper

a.      _____________________________________________________________

b.      ______________________________________________________________

c.       _____________________________________________________________

4(2) Look at the chart on p. 86.  What is the difference between a shift in the demand curve and a movement along a demand curve?   __________________________________________________________________________________

Identify the inferior good pictured on page 86. ____________________________________________

Look at the picture (87) how did the expectations of a higher price effect demand? ____________________________________________________________________________________

Identify the complementary goods pictured on page 88.______________________________________

Read the economic profile on page 89., answer questions 1+ 2.  OR #3.  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4(3)  What two entrepreneurial mistakes are pictured on page 90? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What event influence elections in India in 1998 (p.91)  Do you think a similar event could occur in the US? Explain .______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Identify the equation for determining elasticity of demand ( 92)  __________________________________________________________________________________

The elasticity is different for the two products identified on p. 93.    Why? __________________________________________________________________________________  

How has car advertising changed over time?  Picture on page 94.  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Read the table on page 95.  Answer the question

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  

Read the chart on page 96.  What is the difference in revenue with an item that has elastic demand and one that has inelastic demand?  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Read the Case Study on page 97.  Answer questions 1+2  _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Answer the matching key terms #1-7

1.______  2._____  3.____ 4._____ 5. _____ 6. _____ .7 _____

Week of November 11, 2013

 

Due Wednesday
Identify the three generations.   What is the point of the story?  React.

Boomers Still Top in Business as Gen Y Suffers

11/11/2013 - 8:43 AM EST

NEW YORK ( MainStreet) — The economic downturn in 2008 and the economy's slow recovery may be doing more than hindering young adults from finding a job ¬— it also may be hurting them from advancing in their job.

According to a new study, Baby Boomers are still in many top positions and may be delaying retirement due to the sluggish economy — preventing Gen-Yers from moving into management roles. The percentage of Gen Y workers managing people declined from 15% in 2012 to 12% in 2013.

Also, due to the economic collapse, Gen-Yers — also called Millennials and a reference to those who were born between 1982 and 2002 — are starting their professional lives later, said the study by compensation database PayScale and consulting firm Millenial Branding.

"Similar to other studies, our research reinforces that the sluggish and uncertain economy has made a significant impact on the perspectives and experiences of not only Generation Y, but also Generation X and Baby Boomers," said Katie Bardaro, economist for PayScale.

The new research shows most Gen Y workers (56%) are more likely to work at small firms — those with fewer than 100 employees — than either Gen-Xers, 48%, or Baby Boomers, 50%. Millennials also are most likely to move back home with their parents due to financial hardship after starting their careers. Almost 30% of Gen-Yers move back home, while only 11% of Gen-Xers — those born between 1965 and 1981 — and 5% of Baby Boomers do likewise.

"The economy has delayed their careers and their personal independence and forced them to work harder than previous generations just to catch up," said Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding and author of Promote Yourself: The New Rules for Career Success (St. Martin's Press, 2013).

"They are taking on multiple jobs to pay back student loans and are being forced to create their own careers instead of relying on companies to do it for them," Schawbel said.

Schawbel said it's going to take Gen-Yers longer to reach management positions, because Baby Boomers also have faced the same economy and it's delayed their retirement plans. However, in the next five years 16% of the workforce will retire, so eventually there will be a lot of Gen Y managers and many won't be fully ready to take on the management roles because they will be forced into them, he added.

The study's numbers also reveal a small amount of dissatisfaction among all generations with their jobs. According to the research, 9% of Baby Boomers wish they could change their boss, while 7% of Gen-Xers and 6% of Millennials wish similar.

Gen-Yers, however, also report the lowest levels of both job satisfaction and meaning, while still reporting the lowest levels of job stress

Gen Y has the lowest job stress, because they have the least amount of expenses and few have families they have to support," Schawbel said. "Over 20 million of them are still living with their parents." Older generations have families to support, and Boomers want to retire but can't. Gen-Xers are stressed because they want to fill Boomers' shoes but can't because of the economy.

"Gen Y-ers have the lowest sanctification and meaning with their jobs because their expectations of the workplace were much higher and not met by corporations," Schawbel added.

--Written by Chris Metinko for MainStreet

Week of October 7, 2013 Economics stories

We will complete Chapter 8 this week, be ready for a quiz on Friday.

Identify and explain the reasons why some Microsoft shareholders want Bill Gates to step down.
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/some-microsofts-top-investors-want-bill-gates-step-down-chairman 

Identify and explain the 7 lessons the US government could learn about their finances.
You can bullet the major points of each of the lessons.
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/your-money/7-lessons-us-government-could-learn-marketplace-money