https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j en-us 2018-02-02 13:47:28 UTC 2018-05-15 12:44:07 UTC hello@padlet.com 9959382 https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/232303281 1) What does "better off" mean to you?
To me, it means having a strong support system that allows you to get through your childhood and education comfortably and having values and drive to succeed in your adult life.  To struggle and learn from mistakes in your childhood is to be successful as you will learn how to overcome these things in your adult life.
2) How should a nation growth/satisfaction be measured? By whom?
Nation growth should be measured by the amount of people that can successfully complete their education and hold a job for their life, along with their happiness in life.  Almost like a census, the town that they live in should survey each of their town members and see how many high school graduates are in their town and if they have a stable job, along with their satisfaction.  I think income should be measured along with this as growth of the economy is the amount of money that is being made is the indicator if the person is economically stable.  If a person is living comfortably and happy with their overall life, then they are successful.
3) The poverty rate id often seen as a statistic, not the humans behind it. How would you suggest a solution?
I think that if homes that are living in poverty and are receiving food stamps, a social worker should be assigned to that family of making sure that they are  happy with their lives and that the home is starting to succeed in more cash flow into the home.  A solution to the misconception of poverty rates should be a statistic of how many of the children that come out of that home are successful or how many of those mothers and fathers living in poverty are able to hold down stable jobs.  This would show how overall these families are being successful even if they are living in poverty.  A successful family is about living with a strong support system and having the means to complete an education so that a child's life is bettered in the future.  Also, a statistic should show how many children of poverty go on to be successful in their future.
4) "Universal Income" is incredibly controversial. Can that/should that become a reality?
No because it would almost make our country like a communist country as it is restricting the freedom of each person to be as successful as they should be. This would not allow for large companies to be started or new ideas to surface as the money would not allow for large start ups or innovation.]]> 2018-02-16 13:04:27 UTC https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/232303281 9959382 https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/234198629 1) How should we balance the need for economic growth with the reality of limited/finite resources?
We should begin to produce less physical product, and more services and innovation in technology.  Along with this, we should be more efficient in production by not creating much waste to preserve the earth as long as possible.  We need to stop producing wasteful products and start to produce more of the necessities, with this eliminating more businesses as less products would be put on shelves.
2) According to the economic analysis, it is better to be proactive to this situation rather than reactive.  To what extent do you think economic policies can make change?
I think that in order to be proactive in this situation, we need to cut back on production of items as only supplying enough for a certain amount per year, wasting less resources.  Fashion is a very wasteful industry as one clothes go out of style, there are no other ways besides throwing out the clothes, making production wasteful.  Also, I think we need to protect natural resources as much as possible and limit the amount a company can use.
3) What is the relationship between a government and its economy? (national/local/international)
The government restricts the amount of trade done along with trade itself as they limit who and what comes in and out of the country along with the amount of trade done.  Government laws also interfere with the economy as it taxes on the money made in a deal or a business and regulates the money flow.
4) Do you believe that the global economy is dependent on big industry (oil, etc.)?
No because a majority of trade is food and other goods such as clothing, and although oil and other large industries are important in the economy, there are other large sources of money flow. Since there already is a shortage of oil from the middle eats, there does not seem to be such a dramatic effect of the overall strength of the economy. Trade itself is a huge factor of the growth of the economy as most of corporations' products are made over seas and many other products that are not attainable in the US help strengthen relations with countries and allow for trade to continue.]]> 2018-02-22 13:36:11 UTC https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/234198629 9959382 https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/240148311 1) 60% of the US public has less than $1000 in savings. To what extent is the US economic system to blame?
The rate of taxes is to blame for this, along with the increasing prices of goods such as food, clothing, etc.  Also, the price of student loans and other bank loans are very hard to pay off, so it makes sense that most US citizens only have less than $1000 in their savings account.  Also another factor to this statistic is that many people are not taught how to save their money and spend it as soon as they get payed.
2) 50% of the US population is considered to be financially illiterate. How would you fix this issue? Does it need a solution?
This could be solved by placing more "life-skills" based classes in school, and by having students learn about managing their money and learning how to be smart with their money once they are an independent adult.  This needs a solution because many of the adults that were not informed of being smart with their money are less likely to get a loan or to buy a house because of their low credit score, which is caused by the lack of knowledge.
3) To what extent do you believe financial stability possible for an individual 18-24 year old in the US?
Financial stability is being able to manage your money and live comfortably with paying your taxes and payments without having to worry about not paying the full amount. I do not think that this is entirely possible for 18-24 year olds in our country due to many factors of poverty, student loans, and other money managing issues.]]> 2018-03-09 14:06:00 UTC https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/240148311 9959382 https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/242773151 1) Behavior economics is the fastest growing economic sector for large companies. Do you believe that behavioral economics takes advantage of the consumer?
I do believe that companies take advantage of consumers and their privacy because nowadays, Amazon is able to predict your next purchase and Facebook advertises products that you say that you need.  As the company's only purpose is to increase the consumer's utility, normative economics is taking advantage of how the companies manipulate our emotions to force us to buy their products.
2) GDP of these companies has outpaced India. Should these companies be regulated? Should they have "power" like India, China, etc.?
I do not think that the companies should be regulated because they show strength within the global economy, and with a major corporation like amazon, it is an American based company, only showing more prosperity of America.
3) 64 billion has been paid by Walmart in taxes: Is this tax burden too much or too little? Why?
It is too much because Walmart is being outpaced by higher end companies and huge corporations like Amazon.  It should be taxed less as the taxes on companies should reflect the success and profit they have made over the past years, as if it has gone down, they should be taxed less.
4) Comment on job loss or small business closures as it relates to these topics.
With the increase of huge corporations such as Amazon, it is not allowing for prosperity of small businesses, and that is what America was originally based on.  The success of small businesses show strength in the economy for independent people being financially and economically stable and prosperous, but with corporations like Walmart, it does not allow for this

]]> 2018-03-16 12:25:45 UTC https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/242773151 9959382 https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/247479659 1) Could this "experience" philosophy work to "save" the New England based malls?
It is very hard to add experiences in an area like New England, as almost all year round, there are many outdoor activities.  Why go to a mall to have fun when you could go skiing and the beach?  As I do believe that experiences could help save malls from closing, and since Americans are becoming more lazy every year, it is hard to build indoor experiences in such an area such as New England.  The idea of experiences would bring in more attention to the mall, but it would just hurt the success of the stores as more people would be going to the all for the entertainment, and not the shopping.
2) Do you believe that outlet/discount options can combat online shopping?
I do not believe that this could combat online shopping as people want to see better quality, and with outlet stores, there is of lesser quality products and usually the items for sake are out of style/season. It would hurt a company more to put in a discount store rather than closing all together because the discount store would not be up to quality as the regular store, and they would bring in more revenue by converting their stores to online.]]> 2018-03-30 12:48:39 UTC https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/247479659 9959382 https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/260811123 1) Do you believe that automation increases/decreases the economic "pie"? Why?
Increases due to the fact that more is being able to be produced and humans have to ability to afford automation.  Without technology, many of our jobs today would not be possible to be completed, and the increase of technology only increases the production of productivity.  Although it does put workers in unemployment, overall it creates more money for the global economy, benefiting everyone on a global scale.
2) Have economists fallen victim to the "intelligence myth"? Does it matter either way?
Yes because they think that because they can produce and compute much faster than humans, that they are smarter, but there are necessary tasks that are only capable of human beings. This does matter as if we think of machines as smarter than us, it is going to cause human skills to become obsolete and overall be diminished.  In order to have a working economy, there needs to be human intuition and decision making in order to benefit other humans.
3) Machines can substitute/complement human beings. In your opinion, should productivity be sacrificed so that people can have work? Explain your thinking.
I do believe that productivity should be sacrificed in order to allow humans to be employed, but not to the extent where we are completely without technology companionship. The economy is heavily based on the employment of humans, and if they are entirely replaced, then it does not allow for economic growth.]]> 2018-05-15 12:16:49 UTC https://padlet.com/9959382/rmacgl34zm0j/wish/260811123