Texas to Execute 10 Men in a Month

We spoke about this in class the other day. This is one of those hard issues that you need to think about and have an opinion on as an adult. Remember you vote for candidates that share your views on the issues. This is one of those issues. Where do you stand on the question of capital punishment?

A Call to Action

Check out this op ed from Robert Samuelson at the Washington Post. As young voters it is now your responsibility to take charge of your own future. What do you think about the author's ideas?

A Hippocratic Oath for Business People?

Over the past year the credit crisis has erased trillions of dollars in investor wealth. Peoples retirement funds, savings for college, and home equity have disappeared almost overnight. The economic downturn has now spread worldwide, with one country, Iceland, teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Business executives assuredly played a part in this catastrophe.
Perhaps it is time to come up with a business version of the Hippocratic Oath, taken by doctors and medical workers. This interesting idea is the thesis of this article taken from the Economist magazine. Sound like a good idea or not. Can you think of any unintended consequences that might arise?

What happened to all my money?

editor's note - There will be two articles to comment on this week to make up for last week.

Read this interesting article about what constitutes money and what doesn't. Will the events of the past few weeks cause a fundamental change in our assumptions about the market, and how we invest our money? The Great Depression caused our grandparents to lose their faith in banks. What lessons do you think we will come away with from this current crisis?

Law of Unintended Consequences

When the government gets involved in situations, we often see that unintended and unanticipated consequences arise. A perfect example recently occurred when the Nebraska state legislature passed a "safe haven" law designed to protect mothers who drop off newborns that they are unable to care for at Nebraska hospitals. Read the article and leave your comments. Can you think of any other examples of the law of unintended consequences when the government tries to fix something but messes it up even more?

Is it Time to abolish the Penny?

With all the doom and gloom of the previous week, I thought it was time for a lighter post. Follow the link above to an activist website dedicated to abolishing the penny. As you know the Mint just announced its plans to introduce four new designs for the penny. Leave your thoughts on this and on the penny in general.

A Return to New Deal Intervention in the Economy

While we were suffering along without power, it was a week for the ages on Wall Street. By Wednesday, the Dow was down 800 points, and was poised to drop further. The Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged. Financial heavyweights like Merril Lynch, Lehman Bros., Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs were declaring bankruptcy or agreeing to be sold to the highest bidder. Gold prices were surging as investors dumped their stocks and invested in gold. Oil prices began climbing again. It was truly a grim situation.
Then on Thursday, word leaked out of a possible government plan to stop the bleeding. The government would step in and start buying up these bad mortgages that were killing the banks and financial firms. The plan is still being worked out by Congress, but it offered hope for a long term solution. Stocks rebounded and the Dow ended on Friday where it started the week.
Here is the problem: $30 billion to save Bear Stearns, $85 billion to save AIG, $500 billion to save Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and now as much as $1 trillion to buy up bad mortgage debt. We really don't know how much this bailout will cost.
Should government be in the business of saving the banks from their own bad decisions? It was the banks that made these bad loans in the first place. Will business owners continue to make poor decisions knowing that the government will always come to the rescue. Can we continue to keep spending money like this? What would Adam Smith say?
-or-
Was this action necessary to save the U.S. economy from collapsing? Doesn't the federal government have a responsibility to do what it can to keep us out of recession?
Read the articles and decide for yourself. Post your comments on this wild week.

The High Price of Gas Changing Our Driving Habits?

Read this article, and comment on whether or not the high price of gas is changing the way you drive or even how much you drive.

The American Worker

In honor of Labor Day, read this article about the American worker and leave your comments.
"American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year."

Assignment #1

Follow link to Reffonomics.com, click on Macroeconomics Textbook. Read all parts of first section "What is Economics?" Take online "Hot Potato" Quiz. Print off score sheet after quiz and turn in at the beginning of class Thursday August 28.

Welcome Class of '09

Welcome to AP Economics. This blog will contain readings and assignments that will need to be completed weekly. You must comment on all posted articles, and comments must be a minimum of 50 words. All posts for the week must be completed by Friday at midnight. Any posts made after that time will not be counted.

Monkey Business

As you all know, I am no big fan of monkeys. However, this is a pretty interesting article on the research being done by a Yale economist testing the economic behavior of a group of Capuchin monkeys.

Is the Housing Market Really That Bad?

Check out this story about a new incentive that home sellers can offer potential buyers, the "death incentive."

The Argument Over Free Trade Continues

Read Mankiw's latest regarding the ongoing debate over free trade. Economists and the public are at polar opposites on this issue. Now it is bleeding over into the presidential race.

Candy Sales Going Underground

"Sugar Pushers" roaming our halls. Teachers confiscating candy from students. What is happening in our schools. In Connecticut, an eigth grader and vice president of his class was forced to step down when he was apprehended with an illict bag of skittles. Any thoughts?

Financial Mess

Want a good explanation of the current financial mess the economy is facing, check out Paul Krugman's NY Times editorial. I usually don't agree with Krugman, but this is a very clear and concise explanation of today's banking crisis.

High Price of a Gallon of Gas

The national average is $3.20 per gallon. It will only go higher. At what point do we start making changes in our lifestyles? Will you continue to drive as much as ever, and just cut back elsewhere? Is the demand for gas totally inelastic? Surely, at some point we will start driving less. What are your thoughts?

How Government Makes Things Worse

I know we just had an article on the law of unintended consequences, but I couldn't pass this one up. Ethanol and Sub-prime have more in common than what we would think.

Price of gold soars

The price of gold has reached historic highs. As young economists, can you predict some of the consequences of this? Go beyond the obvious of just more expensive jewelery.

The Scarlet Letter for Drunk Drivers

What do you think of this plan being proposed in the state of Washington? Get convicted of drunk driving and your car is affixed with a bright yellow license plate for a year. Will this serve as a deterrent? The bill's author seems to think it will prevent repeat offenses, and warn the rest of us to give these cars a wide berth. What do you think?