The battle to take down Google

An interesting article on companies that are trying to compete with the massive search engine.

It's the economy stupid!

Found this article that I thought you would all find interesting. Well it is more of an image than article, but it summarizes a lot of "STUFF"

NAKED ECONOMICS DUE DATES

THESE ARE THE DUE DATES FOR THE VARIOUS CHAPTERS OF NAKED ECONOMICS By Charles Wheelan.
For each chapter, there is a one page reaction expected. These should be your own thoughts on each section of reading. For some chapters there are guided questions given, we will discuss some in class, others we won't. Each reaction paper will be 25 points.
CHAPTER 1/6- The power of Markets DUE: 2/18
chp1- how do markets work? who feeds Paris? Why is that an important question? what is economics based on? what are the key ideas of economics?
chp 6- why is the idea of human capital so important?
CHAPTER 2- Incentives Matter DUE: : 3/3
Why DO incentives matter in economics? What are some of the more interesting examples that Wheelan gives from the book? How about examples from your life?
CHAPTER 7- Financial Markets/5- Economics of Information DUE: 3/12
You do not necessarily need to read these in order. Two individual chapters over stuff we have already covered.
Chp 7 Questions: What are the keys to making money in the markets? How does this compare to what we talked about in our stock unit? If you want to challenge yourself, discuss the efficiency of markets theory.
Chp 5 Questions: No real questions. This is a shorter chapter. But what did you find interesting? Has the idea of the "ECONOMICS OF INFORMATION" ever applied to you?

CHAPTER 3/4- Government DUE: 3/30
Chapter 3-Government and the Economy
-At Delbarton, describe a positive or negative externality. (p.49)
o Create an incentive structure to encourage/discourage this behavior that raises/lowers the cost of behavior to better reflect its true social cost.
* On page 56, Mr. Wheelan describes government's institutions that "form the tracks on which capitalism runs."
o Name 5 of these institutions and describe their role in facilitating capitalist rules.

Chapter 4-Government and the Economy II
* If government, through tax initiatives could encourage certain spending in the economy, what kind of spending might they encourage? (p.75)
*why are government monopolies bad?
*why is political (instead of private) allocation of resources a bad thing?
*Government regulation, good or bad? Why?

CHAPTER 10- Federal Reserve DUE: 4/9
Hmm, this is a complicated topic. It is something you have heard of, but definitely not studied in depth. SO, here are some possible topics/questions to consider:

• What is the federal reserve?
• How does easy money policy cause inflation?
• What are some of the policy tools the Fed uses?
• Why is it hard to make monetary policy decisions?
• Why on earth does it make political sense to allow inflation?
• What other questions do you have about monetary policy?
  

CHAPTER 9/11- Trade and Systems DUE: 5/1 2 page minimum
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
Chapter 9- A good opportunity to review some ideas from Unit 1 on trade. Abs v comp advantage, why people trade.

• Respond to any one of Wheelan's comments on trade (these are the section headings in bold, italics). You can talk about ideas you agree with, disagree with. Points you found interesting, or points that you learned from.

Chapter 11- The economics of "poor" nations.

• Based on the information in this chapter, what are some of the key things that so called third world countries need to look out for or keep in mind? Why? What examples do we have in the world today?

EPILOGUE/WRAP-UP

• Seven questions Dr. Wheelan talks about. What are the four best ones? Why?
  
• What further questions do you have for Wheelan?
  

Link to Stock Project Presentations

Here is a link to some "A" presentations on the stock market.

A (RELATIVELY) SIMPLE EXPLANATION OF THE CREDIT CRISIS

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO!!!!!



On a totally unrelated note, here is a link to the 50 best websites of 2008. Be careful, you will waste time on this.

System of an ECON, which market system is the best?

REGULAR ECONOMICS, here is an opportunity to earn some extra Wandzis. Tell me what you think is the best system of economics that we talked about this week and why. Make sure your name is attached to your message. The more thoughtful you are the more you get paid.


OR........

IS AMERICA ACTUALLY #1? Why or why not?

GoPo Government System Links

LINK #1

LINK #2

AP MACRO LINKS

Don't worry, have confidence and you will be fine, hopefully. ; )



REFFonomics. Very solid source

WIKINOMICS

ABOUT.com's macro text book

WELCOME TO MACRO

A couple of things I want you to try today.
#1 Attempt to download the readings. Let me know in class if it does not work.
Reading 1
Reading 2


Also respond to the article below regarding the development of "efficient" cars. Do you agree/disagree? Is it worth it? Respond by clicking on the comments link at the end of this reading. Hit the radio button for name/URL, enter your name, and then place your comments above.
Here is a problem for your students: Where is the most energy efficiency gained? Redesigning a car that got 40 mpg so it now gets 80 mpg, OR getting a vehicle that was at 10 mpg to get 15 mpg?

This is pertinent because we are head over heels in love with the Prius, a vehicle that is sold to people who would have been driving a car like mine (Saturn with 40+ mpg highway). That Toyota company should be bailed out by the Japanese government. And GM should be allowed to burn because they have made such horrible vehicles. And we environmentalists scoff at the improvements made by US engineers at GM and Ford, where their big trucks and SUVs have been turned into hybrids boosting their mpg by what seems paltry amounts, 12 mpg to 16 mpg.

Per 10,000 miles driven, a car getting 40 mpg uses 250 gallons, improving that to 80 reduces gasoline consumption to 125 gallons saving 125 gallons. A vehicle getting 10 mpg uses 1000 gallons per 10,000 miles driven. Improving that to 15 mpg takes consumption to 667 gallons, a reduction of 333 gallons. More than twice the savings of the previous example.

Lesson learned? The Prius doesn't do too much for our energy reduction plans. Keep in mind that the driver of a 10 mpg vehicle will not switch to one that gets 40 or 80.

Second environmental lesson. How much energy does it take to make a Prius? I have a simple process for calculating this. If a 51 mpg Prius costs $24,000, then there is $24,000 worth of energy in it. This conversion factor works for most normal goods. It doesn't apply to a Coach purse (I am embarrassed to say I know what they are). A Nissan Versa can be had for $10,000. The Versa should get about 33 or 35 mpg with a standard transmission. How many miles would you have to drive the Prius to reduce energy consumption by $14,000? Hmmm? Partly depends on miles driven per year and interest rates ( a discounting/net present value problem, and gasoline prices.)

GoPo civil rights research links

Below you will find some links to help you out. You can thank me later.

African Americans
Native Americans1
Native Americans2
Native Americans3
Women1
Women2

Click Here For Images that are historical in nature.

Click Here to Get the Code to change your background color

"I MAY NOT APPROVE OF WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY, BUT I WILL DEFEND TO MY DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT"
What do you think the author of this quote meant by this? How does this apply to the First Amendment? Do you agree with the statement? Should there be limits to what people can say? Why?

To respond to this click on the Comments link below. Click on the button that says NAME/URL, enter your comments in the top box and name in the name box.

The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling

With the economic downturn, life has been crazy in the economy. Here is a little humor to help cope with the negativity that is all over the place. If you have questions, let me know.

Another weird thing in society

I have sometimes wondered about this. . .
http://www.slate.com/id/2183030

Back in the Saddle Again

Starbucks good for the little guy?

So it has been a long time, 3 months and 24 days to be exact, since the last post. Things got busy and I lost some interest. But back at it and we'll see what happens during the Spring term.

Saw this article and found it fascinating. We usually think of corporate giants (Wal-Mart, Scheel's) as being harmful to your local stores. But according to this article, and this instance, the presence of the bigger business was actually profitable to the smaller business. Who says economics isn't fascinating?

How far would you go to make a profit?

On Wednesday we had a discussion about the theories behind supply. If you don't remember anything else about supply in a theoretical sense, remember that the incentive in business ownership is profit motive. A business will provide as much as they can at the highest possible price. They will also do what they can to ensure the production costs are low enough to ensure profit. This includes overhead costs like salaries/wages, rent for a building, purchasing the resources to make what you need, and the effects of production.

So here is my question for you: How far is too far when it comes to profit motive? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to make a profit? This is really a business philosophy question,but give it a try. Other questions to consider: Is having labor in the form of sweatshops, or other less than ethical situations, okay? How about undocumented workers from other countries? What about making your products environmentally friendly, even though this has the net effect of making your goods more expensive? On the other hand is it worth damaging the environment to make a profit? Do consumers play a roll in this? Don't they have the power to influence what businesses do? Again, the question I am giving you is how far would you go as a business owner to make a profit?

Me or my peeps

The debate has existed for hundreds of years. The arguments plagued the Philadelphia Convention in 1787. Political philosophers have discussed it for ages. "It" is the question of which idea is more important: My individual/natural rights vs. the good of the community. Which one is more important? Is it more important for my rights to be protected or should I give up some of those rights for the good of the community?

For this assignment, I would like for you to refer back to the video from class, "24". Do you agree or disagree with President Palmer? Which side is more important, the protection of your natural rights or the protection of the community/country/etc? Are there specific times when one is more important than the other? Please respond to this issue in a paragraph or two.

The Wussification of _______________

FIRST, enter your email below and when I update the site you will get a message. Much easier than checking back constantly.


This is definitely going to be more of a rant than any particularly insightful commentary, so hopefully you aren't looking for something terribly informative. This post is however, prompted by an article I saw recently in USA TODAY. Brief summary: Pfizer has apparently developed a pill that inhibits a person's desire to drink or smoke. On the front side, this will allow for a healthier world. I think we would all agree that less of both of those vices is probably a good thing.

But this highlights a trend that is sweeping America. That is the "quick-way" out solution. In this case, rather than someone showing some self-control and NOT drinking or smoking, they can now pay and take a little pill that will help them. Then if they DO drink they can blame the pill for not working. Essentially it comes down to a lack of responsibility or ownership of what happens in your life. Something bad happened? Can't be my fault. Things aren't going the way I want? Well, I want it changed, but I want it to be easy to change.

Now of course there are people who need these pills. Of course there are people who work hard and take responsibility for their actions. I understand the ideas of demand and incentives. Those are inevitable with progress and competition. There will soon be pills for everything. Depending on the pill, it could be tempting. What if there was a pill I could take that could help me run a 4:00 mile? That is definitely something that would catch my eye.

The bottom line is that we cannot always look for the easy way out, in anything. The most efficient and profitable, fine. But in life the things you work hardest for are the things that are most enjoyed. Now, if I could just find an easier way to keep this site updated.

It's deja vu all over again.

About six years ago, I was sitting in an educational technology class. The idea was to develop skills that would help us become more inclusive teachers with the use of technology. We used software like Dreamweaver that by itself is a pretty cool deal. It helped me develop sites for both school and climbing. The problem is that it is a bit cumbersome, and becoming outdated. I have somewhat abandoned those (although the school one is still used as a clearing house for projects and such) in favor of this blog. User-friendly, interactive, and slick-looking are all advantages to this format. Yes, I am now officially a blogger. Same stuff, different day. Still technology, different format. My hope is that students and friends alike can come here to stay updated on occurrences in the world. There will be some weird things, some odds stories, some unique perspectives to be shared. I encourage all of you to:

• bookmark this and check back on a semi-regular basis
• submit a comment when the mood strikes you
• learn from other posters on here

So thanks for checking this out. I sincerely hope it becomes part of your daily day ; )