What Happened This Week

   This week in class we learned about measuring economics. First we learned about GDP (Gross Domestic Product), which is the market value of all final goods and services. Economists calculate GDP by adding consumption, investments, government spending, and the difference between what we import and export. GDP is important because it indicates how well an economy is doing. We also learned about standard of living, unemployment rate, inflation, consumer price index, and national debt. To show the difference in these categories between different countries we filled out a chart. The chart showed major difference in the countries I chose but they all had one thing in common, a large amount of debt. In my opinion, countries spend too much on things that are unnecessary and that is contributing to debt. But the lack of peace in countries and mostly between countries is a huge cause of debt. Countries have to spend billions of dollars to provide military and equipment. Debt will eventually affect countries in a big way if they do not figure out a way to fix it.

Competition

    Recently, in Personal Finance and Economics we learned about the different forms of competition. Perfect Competition has numerous buyers and sellers, standardized products, freedom to enter and exit the market, independent buyers and sellers, and well-informed buyers and sellers. Monopoly has only one seller, a restricted a regulated market, and a control on prices. There is four types of monopolies: natural, geographical, technological, and governmental. Next, is monopolistic competition, which has many sellers and many buyers, similar but differentiated products, limited control of price, and freedom to enter or exit the market. Lastly, there's oligopoly, which has few sellers and many buyers, standardized or differentiated products, more control of prices, and little freedom to enter or exit market. These forms of competition have many differences as well as similarities.
In my opinion, monopolistic competition could be most successful. Not only does it have many sellers and buyers but is has similar but differentiated products and freedom to enter and exit the market, giving more options for the consumer. I went back and forth between perfect competition and monopolistic competition because they are so similar. But perfect competition offers only standardized products and has independent buyers and seller, not allowing control of prices. Which ever type of competition is used it will have a great impact on buyers, sellers, and the economy as a whole.

March Madness

     In the article, "College Basketball's Real Billion-Dollar Winners" written March 20, 2014 by Chris Isidore, he talks about the money involved in March Madness. Isidore says that it is not likely that someone will win the Warren Buffet-backed $1 billion dollar prize. But there will still be "big-dollar" winners. Men's college basketball produces $1.4 billion in revenue and the winners will be the ones splitting this money. For example, the University of Louisville has the richest basketball program in the country. This men's team alone had a revenue of $42.4 million, which produces a $26.7 million profit. The largest part of the revenue comes from the 14 year broadcast contract between NCAA and CBS. Out of all this profit made college athletes are wondering why they aren't being payed. 

     It doesn't surprise me that colleges make this much money off of sports like basketball and football. But most college players are offered scholarships to play sports, so I don't think it's necessary to pay them. I agree, that is a lot of money but it can be used to provide scholarships for future athletes. March Madness helps many colleges make more money and it increases ticket sales. 

    

http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/20/news/companies/ncaa-dollars/index.html?iid=SF_BN_Lead

Toughest Job Market for Teens

     In the article on CNN, "Teens Face Toughest Job Market on Record" by Annalyn Kurtz written on March 14 she discusses how employment has lowered for teens and people in their early 20's. Kurtz says, only 26% of teens from ages 16-19 had a job in 2011 and this is down from 45% in 2000. This is the lowest rate since after World War II era. In some areas fewer than 1 of 6 teens are employed. In the top 100 metro areas 1.8 million teens are looking for a job or want a job but aren't looking. In my opinion, it is not only underemployment that is an issue but teens are either too busy with school and sports or are too lazy to get a job. So many teenagers today rely on their parents, so they think getting a job is not necessary. These situations could be a huge contributions to low employment. But businesses are also struggling and not hiring as many people. This will most likely effect future job opportunities for this generation.  

http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/14/news/economy/youth-employment/index.html?iid=SF_E_Lead

States Will not Wait for Congress to Raise Minimum Wage

      In the article "States Not Waiting for Congress to Raise Minimum Wage" by Emily Jane Fox and published March 6, 2014 explains President Obama's State of the Union address about minimum wage. President Obama encouraged mayors, governors, and state legislators to stop waiting on congress to raise minimum wage and take action. Many states have already begun discussing this and most have decided on a minimum wage of $9.50 or more. I think this is a great idea and will benefit all employees working on minimum wage. This is especially helpful to people who can only get a minimum wage job. But it could also have negative effects like some businesses having to fire people in order to pay employees. Also the decision the President made without congress could have a negative effect on the trust of congress.  

http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/06/news/economy/minimum-wage-states/index.html?iid=SF_PF_River

US Ranked 19 In Retirement Security

     "U.S. Ranks 19th in the World for Retirement Security", written by Melanie Hicken and published February 25, 2014, shows where the United States stands in retirement security. Those retired in the US are facing more problems and condition than other countries like Canada, United Kingdom, and South Korea. This is the second year in a row that the US has ranked 19 in retirement security, according to Natixis Global Asset Management. More and more a Americans are having to save for retirement and healthcare cost are adding even more weight. Natixis also reports America to be 21st in health, 22nd in finances, 24 and quality of life, and 36th in economic well-being. I understand that running a government isn't easy but the US is capable of improving at least retirement security. After someone has worked for a large portion of their life they shouldn't have to worry about payments. If these problems aren't addressed it could hurt the economy and the government even more. 

 http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/25/retirement/retirement-security/index.html?iid=SF_PF_River

Walmart, Coming Soon?

     This week in Economics we had all the different groups of Weserville come together, the Town Council, YMCA, Bass Pro, factory workers, and Unemployed. Each group is discussing whether or not a Walmart should be built in the town. Some people are worried about the few businesses we do have failing, the town becoming over crowded, or becoming a town based around Walmart. But some think that a Walmart will help Weserville grow and bring more people into the town.
     In my opinion, I believe that Weserville needs to grow and expand. The closest stores are two hours away and the town has very few people. Also with Walmart it could bring more travelers through Weserville, which could help the town become more well-known. Bringing in a store like Walmart will cost a lot especially because we will most likely need to build new roads and buy stop lights. But a Walmart would bring more people and more money, helping growth of Weserville. This relates to what we learned about the circular flow model. If the households buy the goods, through the product market, business, and factor market the money will come back to the household. This relates to current events as well because many towns today are struggling with the decision of bringing Walmart to their town.