Week of May 4th

Monday is Star Wars Day! May the Fourth be with you!

The supply of Star Wars films is increasing. Any idea why? Is it a change in government regulation?

The assignments for the week are up and I’m trying to streamline check ins and also boot up our iLearn so we can do live classes again. Go to Google Classroom for the assignments.


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Week of April 27th

This week, we have two assignments. You can find them both at Google Classroom. I recommend you start with “How do you think we can increase the supply of tests for Covid-19?” There’s a video to watch, then you need to post to the discussion board.

After that, do the “Supply and Determinants of Supply Quiz.” Everything is due by Friday at 10am.

As you may know, there’s a pause to Google Meets. You’ll have to get your check ins through Remind, email, or Google Classroom. Please watch your email for an updated message from me trying to streamline check ins.


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We Miss You Guys!

We are all thinking of you and missing you. We teachers have spent a lot of time this week trying to find the best way to help you through the end of this school year. Look for updates Sunday or Monday. Until then, watch this video. https://www.facebook.com/Stacycoonrumler/videos/10222070797623661/

Otherwise no new work today. Try to get caught up. Answer questions about government spending for tomorrow (https://classroom.google.com/u/1/c/NTMzNjMzMDYzMjVa/sa/NzAyNjMwMDg2OTZa/details) and take this government spending quiz due Monday (https://classroom.google.com/u/1/c/NTMzNjMzMDYzMjVa/a/NzcwNDk4NDE5ODha/details)


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Government Spending Quiz

Today, you’re taking a brief quiz on government spending. It is based on Chapter 10 from the textbook and is due Monday.

Go to https://quizizz.com/join?gc=709954 to take the quiz.


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Questions about Government Spending

This week we are discussing Government spending and resource allocation. Yesterday you watched a presentation of a PPT that discussed these topics (https://drive.google.com/file/d/13G6wybPvrziDtzzuhOSrAg3paNE1wsPe/view?usp=sharing). Considering the information you learned, please answer the following questions. As always, please write in complete sentences.

  1. What is the difference between mandatory and discretionary spending? Give one example of a spending item that fits into both categories.
  2. If you controlled the budget what spending items would you adjust? Would you eliminate anything or add anything? Would you spend less or more on any one category of spending that was discussed in the PPT?

Go to https://classroom.google.com/u/1/c/NTMzNjMzMDYzMjVa to post your answers.


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How Does Government Spending Affect the Economy?

Are you missing that feeling you can only feel sitting in Mr. Rauscher’s classroom? Now is your big opportunity to recreate that feeling. Go see Mr. Rauscher’s lecture at https://drive.google.com/file/d/13G6wybPvrziDtzzuhOSrAg3paNE1wsPe/view?usp=sharing

You can review the slideshow he used at https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kCXObijYHmI8N7oIIFmaJMacl4GXz6V3szqhoHLDQLg/edit?usp=sharing

The head over to Google Classroom (https://classroom.google.com/u/1/w/NTMzNjMzMDYzMjVa/t/all) and post examples of government spending and how you think they may affect the economy.


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Spring Break Current Event Assignment

Spring Break Current Event Assignment
Due: Monday 4/13/20
Turn in via Google Classroom upload

Overview

Over the past few weeks you have been introduced to several current event news stories that relate to how the current COVID-19 pandemic is affecting economics in the United States and other nations. Your task over break is to find two current event news stories and write one paragraph for each explaining how/why they relate to economics. Make sure to use at least one economic term we have learned for each story.

These stories do not have to be related to the virus if you need a break from virus stuff. They can be articles or videos. As long as they relate to the current world.

Step 1

Find two sources of current event information
Copy and paste the link to those sources into a Google Doc

Step 2

Write one paragraph for each that explains how/why they are important economically speaking.
Use at least one economic term we have used in class for each story and explain how that term applies to this story.

Some suggested sources include The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, CNBC, Yahoo Finance

You can find this assignment on the Google Classroom.


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How Pandemics Affect the Economy

Read through this article. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/black-death-makes-us-think-000050300.html

The article explores the economy of Europe after the Black Death. From 1348-1350, Europe lost 60% of its population. This article is not concerned with the economy during the actual pandemic but in the years afterward. A few key things happened:

  • In the years leading up to the Black Death, Europe was very densely populated and resources, like fertile land, were becoming incredibly scarce. With the massive population decrease, resources suddenly became more available and cheaper. This increased supply and decreased prices.
  • Additional resources meant that every worker was far more productive. This increased supply and decreased prices.
  • This increase in supply meant that entrepreneurs saw better returns on their investments and had more money to invest. This also increased supply and decreased prices. Remember that in those days, entrepreneurs generally started much smaller companies, often limited to themselves or their families. A window making shop, or a shoemaker, for instance.
  • The giant decrease in the labor force saw a drastic increase in wages. This increased demand and increased prices.

The overall combination of all of these factors is that people were able to produce more, got paid better to produce more, and were able to buy far more with their money. This created a long term economic boom that helped Europe dominate the world economy for centuries.

Now try watching this video

So what will come in the generation after the coronavirus? The factors the article and the video put forward:

  • We already have an issue with “low skill” jobs being taken by robots. This is called automation. We’re currently trying to find more ways to remove people from the workforce to keep them safe. Will these changes become permanent? Are we looking at more people being pushed out of the workforce?
  • As more people work and consume from home, it becomes clear that we don’t need to invest as much in moving and commuting. Will this make jobs, education, and other things more accessible? Will fewer people move to the same elite coastal cities?
  • Nearly every country, including the United States, is making transfer payments to their people without qualification. They’re literally giving people money. This has been called many things like Universal Basic Income. It was considered one of the very extreme ideas proposed in this year’s presidential primaries. Will this experience make it seem more normal?
  • The workers who are currently deemed essential and are on the front lines of fighting this disease are also workers who are consistently underpaid. This includes near minimum wage workers like delivery drivers, grocery store workers, and fast food workers, and also nurses. Will the newfound respect for these workers help push minimum wage higher?
  • The elderly are far more vulnerable. The current elderly generation, The Baby Boomers, were a very large generation. They have dominated our country’s culture and politics for about 50 years. For instance, every President since 1993 has been a Boomer. If they die in large numbers, how will this change the economy?

How do you think the coronavirus will affect our economy in the long run? If you have guesses, post them at Google Classroom (https://classroom.google.com/u/1/c/NTMzNjMzMDYzMjVa) or here in the comments. You can also ask follow up questions. I will try to respond to all of them.


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Welcome to Government Spending!

Celebrating Spirit Week, here is my cat Sebastian bothering me during a conference call. #PioneerPride

Now that we’ve learned market failures, it’s time to move into government spending. The government spends money for two reasons: to fix market failures and to achieve economic goals (remember those from Chapter 2?).

As we’ve been doing for the last few chapters, having you read about the concepts before we dive into teaching it helps you to understand what we’re talking about. You can see this assignment on Google Classroom (https://classroom.google.com/u/2/w/NTMzNjMzMDYzMjVa/tc/NTczNDMzMDU0OTZa) or you can just make a copy off Google Docs (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DmLoXmAjxM9xCTjf9973Cc_LARJlqcK1fbGx8VaqqH8/edit?usp=sharing). This is a little shorter than other chapters and will be due Friday, April 3 at 11:59pm. The instructions are below.

Read Chapter 10 of the textbook (pages 260-287 in the paper copy; pages 281- 308 in the digital copy). Use the information to answer the questions in the attached doc.


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The Stimulus Package

CNN has an excellent description of the $2.2 trillion stimulus package at https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/25/politics/stimulus-package-details-coronavirus/index.html.

As we are discussing macroeconomics, this is very interesting. The government is trying to keep demand from dropping. As more people are out of work, their income drops, which you remember, means a drop in demand. The government is proposing several different ways to keep money in people’s pockets, which should keep demand from falling too much. When we start talking about government spending next week, we will talk about demand-side economics. This is just a good discussion to have. Please hit me with any questions.

Otherwise today, there are three assignments you could be working on. The Market Failures Slideshow is due this evening at 11:59pm (https://iblog.dearbornschools.org/rauscher/2020/03/20/homework-market-failures-slideshow/). The Monopoly Questions are open for a retake (https://iblog.dearbornschools.org/rauscher/2020/03/25/retake-monopolies-questions/). The Chapter 7 objectives are due on Sunday (https://iblog.dearbornschools.org/rauscher/2020/03/24/homework-market-failures-learning-objectives/). You have the luxury of managing your own time. Do it well.


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