REDONOMICS

Regular Econ Review

2012-02-09T13:42:00.002-06:00

Regular Econ: Unit One Review - Click Here

Economics Review Unit One

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"Twin Ballers"

2012-02-06T12:43:00.001-06:00

Economics of Everyday Life Project Examples

2012-02-02T07:54:00.000-06:00

This is Priceless!

2012-01-31T08:37:00.001-06:00

Facebook IPO Stats

2012-01-30T10:57:00.001-06:00

via

Chart: A Very Tepid Recovery

2012-01-27T11:33:00.001-06:00

Econ Rap

2012-01-26T07:10:00.001-06:00

Creation of Modern Banking Activity

2011-12-10T13:04:00.000-06:00

Directions:

1. Read the story "The Recollections of Pine Gulch." Click here for the story: It takes about 20-30 minutes.

2. Then complete the multiple choice quiz online (found here) and click submit, and I will receive your answers.

Money, Banking, and The Fed Flash Cards

2011-12-08T16:37:00.001-06:00

Study these flash cards | Study money flash cards

MIcro Lesson

2011-12-06T13:16:00.001-06:00

Reffonomcs MRP = MFC Lesson here.

Personal Finance Flash Cards

2011-11-26T18:45:00.001-06:00

Study these flash cards | Study finance flash cards

Target and Best Buy Reach a Game Theory Nash Equilibrium

2011-11-24T15:56:00.001-06:00

Decision to open Thursday night, a Nash Equilibrium. Total spending falls with less all day Friday shopping!

Keynes vs. Hayek: The Podcast Battle

2011-11-16T09:17:00.001-06:00

You've seen the rap videos, now here is the Podcast Battle: Keynes vs. Hayek, courtsey of PBS:

Find F.A. Hayek here. Keynes here.

CRIBS...COLLEGE EDITION

2011-11-15T18:32:00.001-06:00

Thanks to the Housing crash, some students are able to give up this...

and are living in something like this...

Some students at the University of California - Merced are living large. Really large, thanks to the housing boom and bust in the area. The New York Post writes:

"Merced, in the heart of San Joaquin Valley, was ranked the third hardest-hit city in the country for home foreclosures, leaving whole communities of sparkling luxury homes vacant and depreciating, the New York Times reported. For these UC students, the “housing crisis” is an embarrassment of riches.

"I mean, I have it all!" Patricia Dugan, a senior majoring in management, told the Times from her master bedroom suite flooded with California sunshine.

The five — sometimes six — bedroom manses that often feature chandeliers, Jacuzzis, walk-in closets and swimming pools are too expensive for private occupants, but for students splitting costs, rent is peanuts. Several thousand McMansion dormers who have their own bedroom and a private bath pay just $200-$350 each in monthly rent for a typical house share."

Video: Housing Meltdown = Mansions for College Students

2011-11-15T18:05:00.000-06:00

Follow this link for some tight college cribs. Housing Meltdown Opens Doors for College Students

Ch. 24 Vocab: Monopolies

2011-11-09T12:18:00.001-06:00

Study these flash cards

AP Mic: Chapter 23 - Perfect Competition

2011-11-02T19:12:00.001-05:00

Study these flash cards

AP Mic: Ch. 22 Vocab

2011-11-02T19:05:00.001-05:00

Study these flash cards

CNBC Special: House of Cards

2011-10-17T12:59:00.000-05:00

The Crisis of Credit Video

2011-10-10T19:49:00.000-05:00

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Address

2011-10-07T10:08:00.001-05:00

Hungry Muppet: The New Semase Street Character

2011-10-06T10:39:00.002-05:00

If there is such thing as an Economic Sesame Street index, I am pretty sure this is a sign we are in a recession. See Lily above, who's family "has an ongoing struggle with hunger." Read more here.

Google E-mail Login

2011-10-03T07:56:00.000-05:00

Click Here to Login to your Google Email.

User Name: First Name_Last Name12

"Jay Leno, Economically Challenged" Assignment

2011-10-02T19:55:00.002-05:00

Please read the following article here, and answer the following questions in your own words on the form found by clicking here. For the last question analyze the picture found here.

A Little Shameless Self Promotion.

2011-09-27T08:01:00.002-05:00

Check out the whole article here.

MCEE Conference Presentation - August 9th.

2011-08-03T11:51:00.005-05:00

Internet Resources Link

Video Project Link

Costa Rica Baby!

2011-05-26T14:15:00.008-05:00

Here is a little shameless self-promotion, click here or on the article for more info on my trip to Costa Rica this summer. Especially looking forward to zip-lining thru the rainforest.

What's a Degree Worth? An Interactive Graph.

2011-05-26T13:58:00.004-05:00

This is a great, in depth chart of average salaries, by degree. Please click on the link for the interactive graph.

The Biggest Bill Evah Actually Still Has Value.

2011-05-12T08:45:00.000-05:00

Apparently the biggest bill evah printed still has value, as a collectors item. Here, the Journal writes:

"A 100-trillion-dollar bill, it turns out, is worth about $5.

Photo Above: A man in Harare, Zimbabwe, carried cash for groceries in 2008.

That's the going rate for Zimbabwe's highest denomination note, the biggest ever produced for legal tender—and a national symbol of monetary policy run amok. At one point in 2009, a hundred-trillion-dollar bill couldn't buy a bus ticket in the capital of Harare.

But since then the value of the Zimbabwe dollar has soared. Not in Zimbabwe, where the currency has been abandoned, but on eBay.

The notes are a hot commodity among currency collectors and novelty buyers, fetching 15 times what they were officially worth in circulation. In the past decade, President Robert Mugabe and his allies attempted to prop up the economy—and their government—by printing money. Instead, the country's central bankers sparked hyperinflation by issuing bills with more zeros.

The 100-trillion-dollar note, circulated for just a few months before the Zimbabwe dollar was officially abandoned as the country's legal currency in 2009, marked the daily limit people were allowed to withdraw from their bank accounts. Prices rose, wreaking havoc.

The runaway inflation forced Zimbabweans to wait in line to buy bread, toothpaste and other essentials. They often carried bigger bags for their money than the few items they could afford with a devalued currency.

Today, all transactions are in foreign currencies, mainly the U.S. dollar and the South African rand. But Zimbabwe's worthless bills are valuable—at least outside the country. That Zimbabwe's currency happened to be denoted in dollars has amplified appeal, say currency dealers and collectors, particularly after the global financial crisis and mounting public debts sparked inflationary fears in the U.S.

"People pick them up and make jokes about when that's going to happen here," says David Laties, owner of the Educational Coin Company, a currency wholesaler based in Highland, N.Y.

Dealers prescient enough to buy Zimbabwe's biggest notes while they were in circulation are now taking their investment to the bank. Mr. Laties spent $150,000 buying bills from people in South Africa and Tanzania with experience moving currency and other clandestine cargo, including migrants, across Zimbabwe's borders. Sensing that Zimbabwe's last dollars would be "the best notes ever" on the collector's market, he even fronted $5,000 to someone who approached him over the Internet.

"It worked out," he says. "I got my notes."

Frank Templeton, a retired Wall Street equities trader, bought "quintillions of Zimbabwe dollars" through a broker from Zimbabwe's central bank. On eBay, he now does a brisk trade in the bills from his home in the Hamptons, on New York's Long Island. "I like to say Warren Buffett made a lot of people millionaires, but I've made more people trillionaires," Mr. Templeton says. The dealer paid between $1 and $2 for each of the bills in several purchases over about a year, and now sells them for around $5-$6 apiece.

Common Mistakes on the AP Macro Exam

2011-05-09T07:56:00.001-05:00

Common Mistakes On The AP Macro Exam

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AP Micro Review

2011-05-04T12:18:00.001-05:00

Ap micro review

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Graphs 2 Know For The AP Macro Exam

2011-05-04T07:55:00.003-05:00

Graphs 2 Know For The AP Macro Economics Exam

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3rd Annual AP Economics Exam Facebook Global Review

2011-05-03T18:55:00.008-05:00

You are invited to attend an AP Economics review event on Facebook, created by Mr. David Mayer, a friend of mine and an outstanding teacher at Churchill High School in San Antonio, Texas.

Macro: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113231668711614

Micro: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=120063474676222

If you have any questions, post it at this site and a highly qualified teacher will answer your question. This is a excellent resource for review and I hope you have time to check it out!

Here are some student quotes about the facebook review:

"Do it people!! You won't get a group of teachers so dedicated to your

success probably ever again. Take advantage of this and THANK them often!"

"I got a 5 on my AP Macro test. Thanks so much for doing this!"

"I got a 4 on my AP Macroeconomics!! thank you all soo much :)"

"I just wanted to thank everyone for the help, it definitely made a world of difference on the exam!"

Personal Finance Decathlon at the Fed

2011-04-28T19:10:00.009-05:00

Congrats to the AHS Personal Finance Decathlon team who placed 3rd out of 86 teams in the state. A job well done, and a very cool experience.

Photo Below: The team is in their pre-game meeting discussing strategy.

Photo Below: Team hard at work, discussing how the other team knows all the answers. And showing off their cool shirts.
Photo Below: Eating a great lunch in the Official Fed dining room. The team also had the pleasure of dining with Mr. Roger Sit, who manages over $8 billion dollars and is CEO of Sit Investments (one of the sponsors of the Personal Finance Decathlon.) To read the fascinating story of his father, Eugene, who fled communist China with nothing, read here.
Peace out, Fed.

AP Macro Foreign Exchange Market Activity

2011-04-27T12:59:00.003-05:00

AP Macro Students:

Please read the following on reffonomics here and answer the following questions on the reading here about the FOREX Market.

When finished please review the following:

1. Loanable Funds Graph here.

2. Phillips Curve here.

3 The Money Market Graph here.

Due Friday, April 29th.

$5,000 an Hour For a Video Chat. Not Bad Work if You Can Get It

2011-04-21T12:06:00.005-05:00

... and the Nobel Prize in Economics doesn't hurt your earnings potential as well. Expertinsight.com is a new website where economists and others charge money for an hour of internet chat.

Some of the fees for a one-hour video chat are:

Nobel economist Gary Becker: $5,000
Economist Steven Levitt (of Freakonomics fame): $3,000
Author Steven Dubner: $3,000
Political blogger Nate Silver: $1,000
Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron: $400

As Bloomberg reports:

"The site’s roster blends the interests and contacts of Adams, a top poker professional who taught undergraduates in Harvard’s Department of Economics for the past eight years. Adams, the primary research assistant for Michael Lewis’s book “The Big Short,” began giving one-to-one poker lessons over the video-chat service Skype in March 2010, charging $300-$400 per hour.

“I was amazed at how easy it was to drum up business,” Adams, a regular in some of the world’s biggest cash poker games, said in a telephone interview. “I realized that one-to- one teaching was a great opportunity to monetize content. What you’re doing is searching the world for that small slice of people, maybe 15 to 30, who are willing to pay a high price for your content.”

Photo Left: expertinsight.com founder Brandon Adams.

Econ Challenge!

2011-04-04T13:59:00.001-05:00

PREZI Project

2011-03-09T12:31:00.002-06:00

Here is a copy of your state economy presentation, using prezi. Below find an example of a prezi by yours truly.

Additional Sources for Fed Essay Contest

2011-03-04T07:56:00.026-06:00

Education Issues:

James J. Heckman, Noble prize winning economist from U. of Chicago: The declining American high school graduation rate: Evidence, sources, and consequences.

GREAT Powerpoint HERE by Heckman. Here is Heckman on Job Creation.

Here is former Mpls Fed President Art Rolnick on the importance of early education.

Debt, Deficits, and Uncertainty Harm Economic Growth:

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke here.

More here, and here. Robert Samuelson talks about uncertainty hindering economic growth here. More about Keynesian Policy, and huge deficits here.

Debt is now at a level where economic growth and job creation are affected, here.

Government Spending and job creation here.

All this debt crowds-out private investment. Here is the definition of the crowding-out effect.

High Corporate Tax Rates in US decrease Economic Growth and Job Creation:

The US has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. Read how this hinders job creation here. More here and here. And here is how high tax rates reduce incentives. Here is the 3M CEO who is very critical of regulation hurting job growth. And read here, the US will have the highest corporate taxes in the world!

Problems Facing the Long-Term Unemployed:

From ABC News here.

Are there Benefits to Being Unemployed? Do unemployment benefits increase unemployment?

Read here. Obama economist Larry Summers here, on how unemployment insurance reduces the incentives to search for jobs.

Not in the Labor Force? Good article on discouraged workers here.

And don't forget that 60 Minutes Video, previously viewed in class.

Key Instructions: "First, you must be clear about the need for intervention. If you argue that the government should play a role, you must explain why. Further, you need to consider the benefits of government policies as well as their costs, and your account of the costs should consider possible unintended consequences. If you want to argue that the government should take a more hands-off approach, you need to explain why you think that will work better than the status quo."

All About China

2011-03-02T16:57:00.003-06:00

Check out a great map on China by clicking on the picture.

TANSTAAFB

2011-03-01T08:42:00.006-06:00

There ain't no such thing as a free burrito. Well if you watch a video for a minute and a half, you can get the closest thing to a free burrito. Eat your heart out here, at the link on Facebook. Or check out the latest stock price.

MINNEAPOLIS FEDERAL RESERVE ESSAY CONTEST

2011-02-28T09:00:00.000-06:00

You can find your assignment here. Please check out everything you need to know about the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Essay contest here on the Fed Website.

Gas Prices in Europe vs. U.S.A.

2011-02-24T12:29:00.001-06:00

Terracotta Warroirs: Xi'an, China

2011-02-21T13:08:00.004-06:00

Check out this video I took in China last summer. Be sure to watch in 1080 HD.

Cartoon of the Day

2011-02-07T12:41:00.004-06:00

Please click to enlarge...

Can He Really Do This?

2011-01-20T08:25:00.005-06:00

In the above video, some British dude tries to make a toaster on his own, to demonstrate the wonders of trade and comparative advantage, all the while dispelling myths about economic self-sufficiency.

"Best Jobs" according to the Wall Street Journal

2011-01-11T12:12:00.004-06:00

Here is a list of the Best Jobs in America based on "200 jobs based on income, working environment, stress, physical demands and job outlook, using data from the Labor Dept. and U.S. Census and researchers' own expertise." Click the above image to enlarge, and go here to see the complete list.

International Test Score Rankings

2011-01-10T13:00:00.003-06:00

More here from 2 million minutes blog. Click to enlarge.

The Teen Economy

2011-01-07T10:56:00.000-06:00

CNBC at the Consumer Electronics Show: "Taking a Bite Out of Apple"

2011-01-07T10:52:00.001-06:00

60 Minutes: Unemployment

2011-01-07T07:58:00.003-06:00

BLOGONOMICS!

2010-12-05T19:15:00.002-06:00

Please click here for the project instructions.

You can find economics news articles, and much more here, at the Redonomics News Universe.

Photo of the Day

2010-11-17T19:26:00.000-06:00

Those Zimbabwe dollars really are worthless.

Helpful Links for The Stock Market Game

2010-11-11T13:02:00.002-06:00

1. CNBC - Jim Cramer's Mad Money Stock Tips Here.

2. CBS Marketwatch here.

3. Morningstar Stock Research here.

4. Motley Fool click here.

5,000 Janitors with PHD's?

2010-10-26T18:20:00.001-05:00

Here you see the over 317,000 waiters and waitresses with college degrees, please click to enlarge.
Check out the whole article here

Gas Prices Around The World

2010-10-26T18:17:00.001-05:00

It Could be Worse.

Source.

Food Photos: China Edition

2010-10-18T19:48:00.004-05:00

Marshmallow Towers

2010-10-18T15:10:00.010-05:00

The goal of the game is to make the most profit, which of course is total revenues minus total cost. For each tower, each inch up to 4 inches is worth $1000, and every inch above 4 inches is worth $2000. The variable costs are marshmallows ($50), and toothpicks ($100). Each group has fixed costs of $1000, which do not change with output. Bonuses are given as well for being able to hold piece of paper for 5 seconds, and to be able to stand straight for 3 seconds. The group right below this won, with a profit of $12,300. Congrats!!

Well built tower below, very high revenue, but also high variable costs.
This one looks tasty. Unfortunately, not a winner.
Another good effort.
High marshmallow content, also high variable cost.
A great tower, but lots of variable costs.

Mr. T is now promoting Gold: Maybe a Sign of a Bubble?

2010-10-14T11:58:00.001-05:00

It's come to this: The Gold ATM. Seriously.

2010-10-07T20:18:00.005-05:00

While gold has hit record highs, it will soon be available at your local ATM. Check out the video.

Robot Hair Washers

2010-10-07T20:02:00.004-05:00

Creative Destruction in action... a robot takes another job. This time it is at
the hair salon. One thing that the video doesn't elaborate on is how the robot
is actually scanning the user's head shape in three dimensions to figure out
just the right amount of pressure to apply, and it will use that shape to
remember who you are and what shampoo and massage settings you like.

Map of The Online World

2010-10-07T19:45:00.002-05:00

Please click to enlarge

The Street meets Wall Street. Jay-Z and Warren hang out in Omaha.

2010-09-23T12:57:00.003-05:00

Check this out at Forbes, a neat interview.

Economic Boom in North Dakota? You Betcha.

2010-09-21T12:11:00.005-05:00

As you can see below, (click to enlarge) North Dakota has the country's best unemployment rate (3.6%). Check out the full list here. This is in part due to record oil production of 321,000 barrels per day.

This Resturant Gets an A in Economics!

2010-09-17T18:15:00.000-05:00

Economics of Everyday Life Prezi

2010-09-16T11:24:00.000-05:00

China Prezi

2010-09-12T08:17:00.001-05:00

Introduction to Economics

2010-09-06T12:32:00.004-05:00

Economics 1st Day 2010 on Prezi

Personal Finance Presentation - MCEE Conference on Personal Finance and Economic Education

2010-08-09T16:07:00.000-05:00

Personal finance presentation

View more presentations from MrRed.

SNL Skit: "Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford"

2010-08-09T15:25:00.001-05:00

MCEE Conference Presentation: August 10th, 2010

2010-08-09T15:19:00.002-05:00

Economics Education Links:

1. Latte Factor Calculator

2. Compounding Interest Calculator - A Good One!!

3. BestPrep

4. Making Sense with Paul Solman - Solman is the outstanding Economics corespondent for PBS's News Hour.

5. Economics Videos from David Mayer - A teacher from San Antonio.

AP Review: Graphs 2 Know

2010-04-30T08:47:00.002-05:00

AP STUDENTS: Please flash through and review the following graphs from reffonomics.

1. Money Market Graph.

2. Loanable Funds Graph.

3. Phillips Curve.

4. FOREX: Foreign Exchange Graph.

5. Aggregate Supply and Demand.

Creation of Modern Banking Activity

2010-04-29T09:40:00.001-05:00

Directions:

1. Read the story "The Recollections of Pine Gulch." Click here for the story: It takes about 20-30 minutes.

2. When finished with the entire story, please see me and get a quiz on the story. It is due today.
Thank You.

Video: Graphs to Know For The AP Macro Exam

2010-04-29T06:57:00.001-05:00

Iceland Volcano Halts World Economy: From African Flowers to Japanese Cars

2010-04-22T07:47:00.004-05:00

The Iceland volcano eruption has shown us how inter-connected the global economy is. From flowers in Africa to Japanese flowers, the impact has been felt around the globe. Here are some excerpts from CBS News.

"While the volcanic ash cloud covering parts of Europe continues to wreak havoc for airlines - costing the industry more than $1 billion as of Monday - grounding most of the continent's air travel for several days has had a ripple effect extending far beyond Europe's borders.

The following is a collection of international anecdotes demonstrating how the ash cloud has done more than hit airlines' bottom lines and inconvenienced air travelers.

• The lack of refrigeration facilities at the airport in capital of the West African nation of Ghana has been a big blow to pineapple and pawpaw farmers who sell to Europe because of the lack of flights. As of Tuesday, no cargo flights have taken off yet.

• In Africa, a group of five people from Sierra Leone and Liberia had to abandon a fact-finding trip to the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor in The Hague.

• In Kenya, thousands of day laborers are out of work because produce and flowers can't be exported amid the flight cancellations. Kenya has thrown away 10 million flowers - mostly roses - since the volcano eruption. Asparagus, broccoli and green beans meant for European dinner tables are being fed to Kenyan cattle because storage facilities are filled to capacity.

• The U.S. Travel Association estimates that the ash cloud produced by the eruption has cost the U.S. economy $650 million, approximately $130 million per day. That kind of loss to the economy affects the cashflow to fund about 6,000 American jobs, the association said. Every international flight bound for the U.S. is worth an average of $450,000 in spending from travelers, which the association says pays for five jobs per flight."

I.O.U.S.A. - The Movie

2010-04-15T10:46:00.000-05:00

See the video here, at a previous post.

Watch a Bank Get Owned by The FDIC: From 60 Minutes

2010-03-23T08:05:00.000-05:00

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Made in the Good Old USA... NOT

2010-03-19T09:20:00.003-05:00

Here is a list of famous American brands such as Radio Flyer, Etch-A-Sketch, Chuck Taylors, NBA Jerseys, that are no longer made in America... even some American Flags.

The DotCom Bust: 10 Years Ago This Week.

2010-03-11T08:47:00.005-06:00

As you can see from this chart the Nasdaq is still well below its all time highs. Read more here, and if you are interested in the top dot-com flops of the era you might be dissapointed that Pets.com was not #1.
And for you viewing pleasure, here is Sock Puppet in action.

The Worst Car EVAH

2010-03-11T08:11:00.002-06:00

Profiled in the Wall Street Journal, the Yugo is describes as a real piece of crap:

"The car broke down during a Motor Trend road test. Consumer Reports declared that the Yugo was "hard to recommend at any price," noting that during one assessment an oil leak dripped onto the exhaust system and filled the car with smoke. The magazine continued: "The clutch chattered. The brakes squealed. . . . The speedometer clicked. The hood became loose." There were safety concerns, too—though, miraculously, a national study ranked the Yugo as only the eighth most deadly car on the road. Somebody should have demanded a recount."

Who Has a Bigger GDP? New York City or India? Minneapolis or Maylasia?

2010-03-10T19:26:00.004-06:00

Click to Enlarge!

Click on the chart above to find out. This puts some perspective on our ridiculously large 14 Trillion Economy.

HT: Carpe Diem

The World's Richest Person is NOT....... Bill Gates.

2010-03-10T19:14:00.002-06:00

For the 3rd time in 3 years there is a new person atop the world's richest list. Carlos Slim from south of the border once again tops the new l ist for 2010. For all you Bill Gates fans out there he did still capture the 2nd richest spot, ahead of his friend Warren Buffett. Here is a picture of Slim with Bill Gates.

The Lost Decade: The Dow Jones Average

2010-03-10T08:59:00.001-06:00

The Average Camcorder... in 1967.

2010-03-09T14:03:00.004-06:00

and it could have been yours for only $42,000. With extras you can add an additional $12,685

CREATIVE DESTRUCTION: A SLIDE SHOW FROM NPR

2010-03-09T07:17:00.001-06:00

Check out the slide show from NPR Here.

House of Cards

2010-03-05T07:15:00.002-06:00

Academic-All Star

2010-02-23T10:52:00.006-06:00

22 Inventions That Are History

2010-02-11T08:47:00.007-06:00

Here's an interesting link about things that are obsolete this decade. It's creative destruction.

Note: The picture above is from a phone I saw from my trip to the Republic of Georgia in 2008.

Despite the Great Recession, it's Still Pretty Good... says Dallas Fed Economist.

2010-02-05T09:42:00.006-06:00

The former chief economist for the Dallas Fed, W. Michael Cox, has a interesting article on how the the availability of products has spread over time, and describes living conditions of the middle class in America today. Check out this chart.
Cox writes: "It's certainly true that the past two years have been tough for many middle-class Americans. Many of them have lost jobs and homes, seen their investments decline and, more broadly, faced new uncertainties about incomes.

Families are suffering in every community – but the entire middle class under assault? Don't believe it. No hard evidence points to a general decline in living standards for the average American family. Perhaps, having it so good for so long has created expectations, some of them a bit unreasonable. Consider:

•America's middle class lives in bigger and better-equipped homes than ever before, with appliances of all kinds, air conditioning, big-screen televisions, computers, DVD players, digital cameras and so much more (see chart above, "The Spread of Products into U.S. Households").

•Nine in 10 households own a car – better equipped, more durable and more fuel efficient than any in history.

•Cell phones once cost $4,200, but they're now less than $100. Nearly every pocket and purse holds a cell phone, many now with Internet access.

•In real terms, the average family's net worth has tripled since 1970, even after the past two years of declines in housing prices and stocks.

•Tap water's free, but Americans still buy 8.6 billion gallons of bottled water a year.

•Obesity has replaced hunger as the most pressing dietary concern.

Innovation and trade continually drive down the real cost of goods and services and increase the productivity of each hour of work. As this capitalist engine churns onward, the scarcity that plagued mankind for millennia has given way to the abundance that's the foundation of today's vast middle class.

The capitalist system literally created the middle class, and the best way to maintain and improve our living standards lies in keeping it functioning at peak efficiency. Government largesse, no matter how high-minded or well-intended, isn't going to do much for the majority of middle-class families. They have to pay their own way – as always."

H/T: Carpe Diem

A New Market in The 'Hood': L.A. Gang Tours

2010-02-03T11:42:00.006-06:00

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in South Central L.A. Feel free to take a Gang Tour of in L.A. for $65.

Here is an interesting article about it in the New York Times. I should note that all participants are required to sign a waiver acknowledging the risk of injury.

Debt to GDP ratio

2010-02-03T09:24:00.002-06:00

"Fear the Boom and Bust" a Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem

2010-01-26T07:36:00.005-06:00

This one is good!

Also, you can download the song, or check out the lyrics and more here.

How the Federal Reserve Works

2010-01-22T18:25:00.000-06:00

How the Federal Reserve Works

I.O.U.S.A. - The Movie

2010-01-19T08:17:00.002-06:00

Check out the link here on youtube. It's about 30 minutes.

30 Days of Outsourcing

2010-01-06T10:07:00.001-06:00

Creation of Modern Banking Activity

2009-12-09T12:33:00.002-06:00

Flash through Recollections of Pine Gulch

Part One: Click Here

Part Two: Click Here

When finished, please get a worksheet for a quiz on the readings.

Video: Are You Really Unemployed?

2009-12-06T19:29:00.002-06:00

UNEMPLOYMENT: THE MOVIE

2009-11-19T07:58:00.002-06:00

Click on the movie to play. It looks like a spreading plague or something.

HT: Carpe Diem

Detroit's Abandoned Buildings Providing Opportunity For Pranksters.

2009-11-10T09:22:00.004-06:00

Read more here about this and other pranks from the Wall Street Journal.

The Berlin Wall: Before and After Photos

2009-11-10T08:59:00.004-06:00

Here is a great NY Times photo of the Berlin Wall, before and after. It sure looks from the photos that East Germany has become relatively prosperous, at least compared to their living standards during communism.