1. As we have discussed, the most fundamental study of economics must address the issue of needs vs. wants and the consideration of available resources in making choices. Go to the Discussion Board and tell about a recent purchase you or your family made that required you to make a choice between a need and a want.
This situation may deal with you personally or with your family as a whole. If you have not made any personal purchases in the last few months, ask one of your parents (or another adult) to share with you a purchase they made and the reasons why they chose the product they purchased over another product. Share with the class the scenario by discussing the item purchased, the other items that were considered, and the reasons the item purchased was chosen over the others.
2. Did you know that in times of war the government can decide to distribute certain resources and limit their distribution to the public? Ask any of your neighbors, friends, or relatives who may have lived through World War II. During that time, the government often rationed certain resources such as gas, steel, and food. The reasoning was that these items were needed to support the war overseas. For instance, steel was needed to make important weapons and ammunition.
In at least one well-developed paragraph, explain your opinion on the ability of government to distribute important resources. Does such action on the part of the government infringe on the rights of Americans? Do you think it is important that national security come first over the needs and wants of the public at large? Be sure to provide logical reasoning to support your opinion.
3. The Best Things in Life are Free" is a song written by B.G. DeSylva, Lew Brown, and Ray Henderson for the musical Good News which opened on September 6, 1927 in the 46th Street Theater in New York City. It played for 557 performances. A movie version was produced in 1930 and remade in 1947. A movie musical, The Best Things in Life Are Free, based on the careers of the songwriters, was made in 1956.
The song's lyrics imply that love and marriage are costless:
The moon belongs to everyone
The best things in life are free,
The stars belong to everyone
They gleam there for you and me.
The flowers in Spring,
The robins that sing,
The sunbeams that shine
They're yours,
They're mine!
And love can come to everyone,
The best things in life are free.
4. As we discussed in the previous screen, people receive a salary or income for supplying the factors of production. Of great debate are the amount and types of work various individuals must perform and the payments they receive. Some feel that a doctor should receive more money than a farmer because of the expensive schooling he must go through to become a doctor. Others feel that the backbreaking work and long hours that farmers put in entitles them to higher salaries.
What are your thoughts on this subject? Are Americans paid fairly based on the jobs they perform and the skills they must have to complete their work? For example, are professional baseball players paid too much? Be sure to provide logical reasons to support your opinion.
Go back and re-read the lyrics of "The Best Things in Life are Free." Do you agree with the song's sentiments? Are the best things in life free? Explain your answer in one well-developed paragraph. Be sure to use examples to support your opinion.
Consider the costs of any choice that a married couple makes; the choice the two of them together decide upon may be very different than the choice each partner would have made if he or she were not married. These costs are called 'opportunity costs.' For instance, a single person may choose a small one-bedroom apartment that has a low rent.
A married couple may need a bigger place to live and will probably purchase a house at some point-one that comes with a large monthly mortgage payment. Another example might include how the couple chooses to spend their holidays. A single person would have a considerably easier time choosing to spend time with family or friends whereas married people must choose between two (or more) family sets and might have to choose whether to travel or stay at home.
Considering such choices of married couples vs. those who are single, in your opinion, what is wrong with applying the statement "The best things in life are free" to the topics of love and marriage? Explain your answer in one well-developed paragraph. Be sure to use examples to support your opinion.
5. Imagine that you live in a centrally planned or command economy. What aspect would you like most about living in this type of economy? What aspect would you dislike most about living in this type of economy? Be sure to explain each like and dislike completely and provide logical reasons to support your answers.
Government involvement in the economy is the subject of great debate. While some feel the government provides just the right amount of protection of economic freedoms and rights, others feel that the government hinders the economy because it is too involved in this area. Many feel that such government regulations interfere with the growth of the economy, as sometimes businesses must institute costly practices and procedures in order to comply with government regulations that ensure consumer protection.
What are your thoughts about this subject? Do you feel the government should be more involved, less involved, or that the level of government involvement is just right? Provide an explanation of your opinion in at least one paragraph and provide reasons to support your opinion.
6. At times, the elasticity and inelasticity of demand of a product can be a personal decision. What might be an important, "must have" product for one person may not have the same importance for another person. Therefore, the demand of some products may be elastic for one person and inelastic for another.
Discuss two products that you purchase on a regular basis. Your demand for one product should be elastic, and the demand for the other product should be inelastic. In an entry of at least one paragraph, describe each product and why your demand for each is elastic or inelastic
7. What are some new products that you have seen businesses supply in recent months?
Have prices increased or decreased since the product or products have entered the marketplace?
Do you think these products are fads and will remain on store shelves a short time or do you think they are products you will see for a long time? Why or why not?
Is the supply of these products elastic or inelastic? Be sure to explain.
8. Review the answers you wrote for the warm up activity you completed in your notebook for Unit 6, Section 1. Choose three of your five favorite stores and explain why you like to shop at these stores. Then, evaluate whether you tend to typically support sole proprietorships, partnerships, or corporations. Explain why you tend to select this choice. Are you an advocate for smaller establishments or larger ones, and why?
Comment on some of the entries of your classmates. Your comments should address the similarities and differences of your classmates' opinions. Some questions you might address: Do you see a trend in buying habits and the stores preferred among people your age? Can you think of a reason that might explain some commonalities or differences? In your opinion, do the shopping habits of your classmates tend to reflect the shopping habits of the U.S. populations?
9. Some say that with increased technology, such as ATMs and debit cards, and the expense of printing money, our society is headed for a completely paperless banking system. This means that paper money and coins would be removed from the economy. Instead, our bank balances would be handled by computers. We would carry plastic cards (much like debit cards) and use them to deduct money from our accounts and to pay bills. Paying bills will simply become a matter of deducting money from one account and crediting it to another via the computer.
Do you agree with this thought? Do you think we are headed for a completely paperless banking system with no paper currency at all? Post your answer to this question along with at least two reasons that support your opinion. Be sure to completely explain your position. Your explanation should be logical and show thought and reasoning.
10. Now that you have had the opportunity to do some research on the state of the economy, and you have read about the different indicators that economists use to forecast changes in the business cycle, post your opinion on the future of the economy. Do you feel the country is headed for a recession? Or do you think the economy will continue on a period of expansion? Currently what phase of the business cycle do you feel the economy is in and where do you think it is headed for the future? You may access online business articles or watch economics related news programs to help you develop an opinion. Be sure to provide at least one logical reason to support your opinion.
11. Choose an adult friend or relative and ask them to think of two items that they purchased when they were young and that can still be purchased today (examples: movie tickets, candy, ice cream, baseball cards, gasoline). Then, in a post of at least one paragraph, tell what those items are, and the prices that your friend or relative paid for them previously. State what the same item costs today. How high have prices risen over time? Why do you think the prices of these items have risen over time?
Then in a second paragraph, name two items that you regularly purchase today and what you currently pay for them. Do you think the prices of these items will be higher 20 years from now? Speculate what they might cost in 20 years and why
12. When it comes to the issue of international trade, where do you stand? Do you think it is beneficial and important? Or are you a protectionist? Do you feel that it is better to block the importation of some products into a country? In a post of at least one well-developed paragraph, explain your opinion on the issue and provide logical arguments to back up your opinion.
13. As discussed earlier in this section, many criticize contributions the United States makes to economic development organizations like the World Bank. They feel that the U.S. should first be concerned with the economic status of its own citizens. Where do you stand on this issue? In a post of at least one well-developed paragraph, explain your opinion on this issue and provide at least one logical argument to support your opinion. You may go back to page 10 to review the article that addresses this issue.