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Facebook and News Sources Combine

This article focuses on various new sources’ decision to allow their articles to be featured on Facebook, a popular social networking site, in a more easily managed way. This would provide users with fast and available access to scholarly articles from reputable news sources. This is in response to a new demand for items of substance from social media sites, as opposed to funny memes and cat videos. Facebook knows that if users’ demands are not met through their social media site, then users will simply obtain this from a competing website. In order to remain relevant in the constantly-changing and ever-fickle human psyche, Facebook needs to meet the demands of their users. To do otherwise would result in a loss of popularity and a loss in users.

A concern for news sources who intend to join Facebook is how this change in medium for their product will be interpreted by viewers. Currently, Facebook is not considered the most reputable of sources for news. By having their articles featured on a site with this status of incredibility, news sources risk having this image transposed onto their companies. Another issue with this view of Facebook is that when individuals log onto Facebook, they do not do so with the intention of reading scholarly articles and gaining more knowledge about current events. Likely, users are on Facebook with the intention of connecting with family members through pictures, status updates, and trivial pictures. The atmosphere surrounding Facebook does not prime the individual for learning, and as such, viewers may not be interested in the featured news source articles.

A positive impact of this union between Facebook and news sources ties in with the idea of present bias. Individuals would much rather have what they desire in a less valuable form now, rather than in the best possible form later. This means that a Facebook user would prefer to get his news in a short snapshot of the article instantly, rather than getting a better, more in-depth explanation later from a reputable news source. This merger between Facebook and news sources would allow individuals to get their news faster, which is something viewers value extremely highly.

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#Skill 4: make connections

Priming

Priming is the idea that our actions can be influenced by the things we hear or see just before the action occurs. For example, if a list of words one commonly associates with the elderly is read off, the individual who hears it will likely begin to walk more slowly, resembling an elderly person’s walking habits. This concept can affect all aspects of life, and is noticeably present in decision-making processes. When reading a list of triple-digit numbers, individuals proved more accepting of high prices than when a list of double-digits was read. In this way, advertisers can manipulate viewers into buying their products more easily. Buy telling viewers how high prices are for comparable products, advertisers are priming you to accept the prices they have chosen for their product. This makes the viewer more willing to purchase the product for the price shown.

However, these effects are not lasting, and have only been tested in a laboratory environment with all other stimulus controlled. Once an individual is exposed to stimuli that argues with the original stimulant, the effects of the original stimulant are replaced by those effects consistent with the new stimulus. For example, if the individuals who were exposed to the list of words associated with old age were later exposed to words that are commonly associated with youth, these individual would likely begin to walk at a normal or even faster pace. This means it is unclear how the effects of priming translate into reality, where individuals are bombarded constantly with conflicting stimuli.

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#Skill 3: deepen your understanding

Unemployment

#Skill 2: speak knowledgeably

Inflation Nation

Over time, the value of money decreases. This means that you can buy consistently less and less with your money as time goes on. We have all heard the stories of how when our grandparents were our age, a quarter could buy everything you would need from the grocery store for that week; whereas now, you can barely buy a cheap toy with a single quarter. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can feel as though you are getting robbed every time you go to the grocery store. However, the truth is slightly different than what inflation may feel like. While it may feel like the value of your money is withering away like a languished animal, it is really just the price of goods and services that is increasing. A dollar will always be a dollar, and will always have the same numerical value attached to it. What may change is what a dollar will buy you. Something that may have been a dollar back in the day may now cost a dollar and fifty cents. This increase is a natural process, and as a natural combatant, money is more easily obtained with the progression of time. It is much easier to get a dollar today than it was fifty years ago. I agree with this meme, which stresses how frustrating it can be to hear how inexpensive things were when our grandparents were young. However, if you just remember how much more accessible money is now compared to how accessible it was in the past, it can help to ease frustration felt from opinionated grandparents.

#Skill 1: advocate/persuade

Keynes Vs Hayek

Keynes and Hayek are radically different viewpoints regarding economics. Hayek favors a laissez faire approach to deal with economic downturn, which values stability and an organic method. Hayek believes that, if given time, the market will sort itself out, and all will return to normal. While this is true for the most part, it will also take a lot of time, during which, people will be suffering. Keynes favors a more hands-on approach that relies heavily on governemt stimulus. This approach is a lot faster, but also is a lot less stable, and makes the economy prone to bubbles. Keynes dislikes saving, favoring spending money to stimulate the economy, while Hayek feels it fosters good investments. According to Hayek, the root economic downturn is bad investments, while according to Keynes, the economy is driven by the feelings of those participating in it. If people are optimistic about the economy, then they will spend more, and in turn the economy will get better. Over-all, Hayek supports trusting the system, while Keynes supports controlling it.

alexisloveschuckbass

“Don’t mess this up! It’s a part of your genetic programming. Remember Order 66.”

Earth Day Thoughts

Within nature, there are millions of interactions that go on that we, as humans, cannot understand. We simply do not have enough experience existing to see what is happening around us for what it truly is. This can be applied to economics. The market is a complex system that is constantly changing. These changes are natural, but too much manipulation by humans can result in unforeseen consequences.

This was stressed in the Thinking Like a Mountain passage. Humans wanted to get rid of wolves, thinking it would increase deer populations, and lead to a better hunt. However, reducing the wolf population eventually lead to a decrease, not an increase, in deer populations. At first, there would be a sharp increase in the deer population, over time, the excess deer would deplete their resources and eventually die. In the same way, too much success for one company results in the destruction of another. Once other companies are gone, and competition is virtually nonexistent, innovation will die, and the thriving company will be affected negatively.

While our economic endeavors can seem like everything for us, they are really inconsequential. Everything that we do is on the small scale because we exist on the small scale. There exists a chart depicting the evolution of the Earth over time as a clock.

Humans have only been around for less than a second of the Earth’s total history. Our impact cannot possibly destroy the entire Earth. The Earth existed for long before us a long after us. Likewise, one bad investment will not ruin your entire life. You may go into bankruptcy, have to move into your parent’s house if it is a really bad investment, but overall you will be fine. So will the Earth. If you lose your ego over your importance, you will understand just how trivial the decisions you make every day are.

The People Behind Unemployment

Jose lives in the District of Columbia. He came to the DC to be around politics, as he has a passion for government, but he never finished his education. Thus he was forced to work in construction until about 30 weeks ago, when his last project ended, and he was never selected for another job. Jose is unmarried, and cannot return to his parents for support, as they do not live in the United States.

Lance was recently laid off from his job at a New Jersey casino. Lance is a good-worker, and has a skill set that can be applied to a variety of jobs. He has been actively seeking work, but in the meantime has been collecting unemployment, and his wife has been taking extra shifts to support their small family. He has lost some confidence in himself, and is beginning to realize that he may have to accept a lower-paying job than what he previously had.

Joyce lives in Mississippi. She is 45 years old, married, and has a teenaged son. Joyce had a well-paying job, until about a month ago when she lost her job. She is looking for a job requiring the same skill-set as her previous job, and hopefully the same pay. She has a college education and a lot of experience, and is very confident in her future.

Laura, a citizen of Nevada has been seeking a job for some time now. About a year ago, Laura quit her well-paying job at State Farm, as she believed her skill-set exceeded that which the company required considering she had a college degree. It has been about a year, and Laura has been unable to find a job at all. She has applied to jobs that pay less than her former jobs, to no avail. This has made Laura discouraged, and she has ceased applying to jobs, as she believes it is useless in this economy. She spends her time volunteering, and collects unemployment

Caleb is an older Californian male, who lost his job as a teacher over the summer. At that point, the hiring season had concluded, so Caleb was forced to wait until the next hiring season in August, when he could show employers just what his extensive experience and education can do for them. In the meantime, he had been working as a substitute teacher, but has not had an opportunity to do so in about two months. He is unsure of his future, but is available to work whenever he is needed.

Martha has just given birth to her first child, who was premature, and very sick when he was born. Before her pregnancy, Martha had an okay job that kept her busy and helped her and her husband get by. When her child was well enough for her to return to work, her old job had been filled. Martha was forced to take a part-time job at her previous place of employment, as that was all they could offer. Her husband recently received a promotion, which has helped pay the bills in the meantime, and Martha is grateful for extra time she gets to spend with her child.

#unemployment

Raul Castro

Born in Mexico, one likely would not have thought Raul Castro would ever become involved in United States politics. Immigration is a highly controversial topic, with many extremists feeling as though unless you were born in the United States, you are not truly an American. The fact that Castro was able to overcome this stigma is monumental.In order to be the president, one must be a United States citizen and many feel that this applies to all governmental positions. Immigrant politicians are often thought to have ulterior loyalties to their native countries, despite there being no evidence to suggest as such. Castro did not accept this, but rather worked even harder to prove these ideas wrong.

Castro was also extremely poor during his childhood. This means that during his formative schooling years, he likely did not have the best nutrition or school supplies. Despite this, he managed to play for the high school football team, and was granted a scholarship to attend Northern Arizona University. This shows that despite his troubling upbringing, he was able to apply himself to the fullest, and become the best version of himself possible. Though he may not have seen his potential at first, he always lived as though he could. To a boy who had to scavenge for food, college seemed like an impossibility, but he knew to take the opportunity to further himself when it presented itself to him.

One circumstance that may be overlooked is the fact that Castro did all of this in a historically conservative Republican state. Often known for not being very accepting of change, usually opting for more traditional practices, conservative Republicans likely would not have supported the first Mexican governor of their state (this is a generalization, and does not reflect the entirety of conservative republicans). Castro did not let this hold him back. He campaigned in often-overlooked areas, gaining votes from small groups that would add up into a large pool. He used his wits to gain votes, instead of simply giving up on this conservative Republican state we live in.

I am not sure that this is possible in today’s world. One thing that helped Castro gain the tools necessary to live the life he is living is his scholarship to Northern Arizona University. He said that this scholarship was given based on the university’s need for a quarterback. With the increasing importance placed on college football, I do not think there would ever be a time that a school was quarterback-less. In today’s world, his scholarship likely would not have paid for room and board, and he would not have been able to pay the amount asked. Lastly as time goes on, the number of students attending university and the price of going to college has increased. With this in mind, it is unlikely Castro would have been able to find the success he found. That being said, Castro really was a special type of man, and if anyone could do it in today’s time, it would be him.

#RIP Raul Castro

Circular Flow vs. Education

Statistically, more and more people are going to college. This is because there is a large emphasis o the idea that in order to get above an entry-level job, one must have the highly advanced skills that only college can provide. However, the article “Bad news for the Class of 2008,” proved that this is not always true, in fact, it usually isn’t.

During times of recession, the people are scared. They have most likely lost money, and do not want to lose more. They begin to hoard their money instead of spending it, which would stimulate the economy. People build their savings to the maximum, thinking it will protect them from the recession, but really they are prolonging its effects. In order to stimulate the economy, the government must take up this task. This extra spending on the economy means that less government money is going elsewhere. One of the places often cut is education.

Schools usually receive assistance from the government, but when this is absent, they must find other sources for revenue; one major source is the students themselves. The cost to attend these schools goes up to insanely high prices, ones that students will be unable to pay without taking out a loan from the government. Since college tuition is the highest it has ever been, the loans students take out are as well.

Living life with student loan debt forces the individual to budget their money around paying back this loan as quickly as possible. This means that they are accepting low paying jobs just for the purpose of having an income, and spending less money on things that would stimulate the economy. Thus, the economy is either slow to growth or stagnated, forcing the cycle to continue. While the economy will always go back up if given time, the effects of loans and beginning one’s professional career at a low-income job, that is often not suited for one’s education level, can have effects on the individuals future for decades.

nico-nomics-blog-blog

Before today, I didn’t even notice how misinformed humans are because of bias. Being born and raised in the Western world, I always believed we were great and other places were in bad conditions. Obviously, that isn’t the case because sure we are progressing as a country but not in the way that is...

cayroyecono-blog

I think when I first began to realize the the United States wasn't the “best country in the world” as I had always been told was when I got more involved with the internet and was able to hear the opinions of non-Americans on America. I was shocked to hear how many people completely despised the U.S. It made me want to fight to show the rest of the world how great the United States could if we could all come together for a specific cause, like decreasing our ecological footprint. I really think if we buckle down with removing fossil fuels and finding greener solutions to creating energy, we could make a huge impact. All it takes is motivation.

On a side note, I've been to Costa Rica and honestly the people there are so nice and seem to be really happy doing what they do. I liked the environment so much that I wanted to move there after college for a long time. I’m not shocked that they were shown to be the people with the most happily lived years!

cayroyecono-blog

If you were to ask the average American how they believed the country was doing, the majority of Americans would say that the country is going downhill fast. At least, that has been my experience. When people are surrounded by others who are constantly telling them how bad it is,...

cayroyecono-blog

I think Hans and Ola Rosing’s talk was my favorite because it pointed out a lot of misconceptions that I have myself. I only got the natural disasters question right! I only think I got that one because I’m not afraid of natural disasters because Arizona doesn't have any, excluding drought. I will definitely apply his tip for getting rid of my bias and misinformation before sharing my opinion in the future.

USA Progress Report

The second Ted Talk really showed how this is present in our every day lives. The people around us, including the media, all believe certain things that are not true, like that the income gap has been increasing for the past decades. Not only is this false, data shows that there is no gap at all, but “one hump.” With this is mind, it is safe to say that we cannot always form our opinions based on what we are told because that may not be the objective truth. Yes, there is still a gross abundance of poverty that exists, but that does not mean that a solution for this problem is constantly being worked towards, and that there have not been some results.

I would say that the United States is currently doing very well. While there may be come policy changes that can be unfamiliar and scary, everything will likely become routine and perception of these new policy changes will, over time, become more positive. I think the most important thing to remember is that things generally get better. U.S. citizens are generally happy, and the majority have the basic needs necessary to lead a content life.

The first Ted Talk stressed the importance of judging a country not by its gross domestic product (GDP), but by its societal progress, using the social progress index. When individuals needs are met, society improves. A country that provides basic necessities for its citizens is much superior than one that simply has a high GDP. This is because money means nothing if it is not put towards good works that will benefit society as a whole. Society is comprised of people, and to achieve money at the expense of the human person is not success at all, but completely goes against the idea of the universal duty of promoting social justice. The united States is falling somewhat short on producing societal progress, despite its high GDP. While our societal progress index value may be higher than some other countries, it should be much higher, especially considering the resources available to us. This suggests that the money earned by the United States is not being invested in the people, but rather things that do nothing to promote society.

The final Ted Talk compares human happiness, in number of years, to a country’s ecological footprint. If human happiness comes at the expense of the planet which we call home, then can it really be considered true happiness? one should not gain happiness from suppressing something or someone else. Happiness stolen is not real happiness, and it does nothing to increase the happiness of others. The united States does have a comparatively high number of happy years, but this is a huge expense to the world, as we also have a very high ecological footprint. Some countries, like Costa RIca, are able to have even more happy years with a much smaller ecological footprint. This shows that it is possible to experience happiness without killing the planet in the process.

With this in mind, I would say that the United State’s ability to turn GDP and resource use is average, we are not the worst and we are not the best. However, we are doing significantly worse at keeping our ecological footprint small than most other countries. Compared to other countries, we are generally doing just as well. I anticipate that we will improve these statistic, with time. It will only take a little effort to become an example for others when it comes to what truly matters.

#ted talks

Piktochart

The Following is our Piktograph depicting the strategies we feel contributed to our success. Our group scored low in the final ranking, but ended with a positive net worth.

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$10,058.11 vs. $9,914.53

When investing in the stock market, the most important thing to remember is that you cannot expect to beat the system and make millions. You cannot put twenty dollars into the system, and expect to be rich by the end of the week. That is not how life or the stock market works. There is no magic formula that will allow you to control the market because the market is controlled by humans. Humans are fickle and erratic creatures, and as a result, the market is also fickle and erratic.

That being said, when investing in the stock market, there are certain things that can act as tools for success. For example, investing in a mutual bond will allow you to diversify your investment portfolio even if your funds are lacking. Mutual funds can come in a variety of forms, and offers you less risk than that would be seen with a single investor acting alone. This results in less foreseeable profit within mutual funds. A good rule to remember with the stock market is that the higher the risk of your investment, the higher the potential return or potential failure and loss of money. This means that in order to achieve balance, you will not only need a diverse portfolio of investments, but diversity in the types of trades you make as well. This was made evident in my game, when all of my stocks plummeted, and the only thing keeping my total gains in the positive numbers was my mutual funds. When my stocks went back up, the amount of money I made proved just how much return can be seen with a higher risk. The market is fluctuating, and the only way to combat this is to have a diverse investment strategy.

Another thing I learned from the game was that if you invest in products and companies that you enjoy, it is much better than supporting a company simply because it is profitable. One of my favorite places is Taco Bell, which is owned by Yum Foods. When I made my investments, almost every analyst and every chart suggested against an investment in Yum Foods. I decided to overlook this because I truly support Taco Bell and Yum Foods as companies, and what the provide to consumers. That was one of my most profitable investments. Investing in companies that I personally enjoy was the main strategy of my Beat the Market game, which did much better than my Buy and Hold game, in which I attempted to manipulate the market to please my wishes. This shows that profit will come if you invest in companies that you support personally.

Another tip for investing that I learned from the game was to make as few transactions as possible. My first time playing the game, I did not realize there was a charge for every transaction. As a result, I made way too many trades, which added up and increased my debt over time. To avoid this, it is best to have a strategy before trading. This way, your emotions will not get involved when looking for companies, and you will not be prone to making rash purchases. This will result in you making fewer trades, and accumulating less transaction fees. Once you buy these stocks, you will likely want to hold onto them for longer, as there is another fee involved in selling investments. This is a good thing, because investing is a long-term endeavor, If you want to make profit using the stock market, you need to know that it will take time, and plan accordingly.

A common human response to stress is to freak out. However, if you freak out on the stock market, it can have disastrous effects. Which can be hard to do when all of your stocks plummet, while someone’s else is doing well. An important thing to remember is that another’s success does not equal your failure. If you really want to judge your performance, then the best way is to judge your total percentage gain against the market itself. You can alleviate anxiety over a down week, if the entire market went down that week; you can keep perspective on a good week, if the market as a whole did even better during that week. Even if your stocks are going down, while the market goes up, that does not mean it is time to freak out. If you keep your head about you, you will be able to navigate the stock market effectively, and grown your money with time.

#marketwatch #stock market #investments

What Is Money?

Everyone wants more of it, but what really is it? Money is a claim on human labor, meaning that we are exchanging it for some action, such as the making of a shirt or a taco. However, in order for something to be money, it has to have three specific qualities. First, money must have store of value. This means that whatever item is representing money must hold its value, unlike a banana, which decays. This items value comes from its rarity. Second, money must be a unit of account. This means that it can be broken into smaller pieces. For example, a dollar can be broken into pennies, nickles, and dimes. Unit of account means that one unit is considered equal in value to another unit, just as one dollar is just as valuable as another dollar. Lastly, money is a medium of exchange. This means that it is valued universally and people want it in exchange for goods and services.

An item can have all of these things, and still not work as money because unless people believe in money and its value, it will not have value. People have to have faith that their money will be worth just as much tomorrow as it is worth today. Without this faith, a currency can completely lose value, and when this happens, the country oftentimes disappears. Once a country's currency loses its power, that country is no longer able to control its economy, which, in turn leads to a total collapse of the country. Brazil is possibly the only country that has ever been able to climb out of this type of situation. It was done by completely reinventing the monetary system and ultimately basing the value of their money on the U.S. dollar. If a country is unable to restore people's faith in money, the results will be disastrous.

Money is created in a small room, by a group of people behind computer screens. These people research the economy, decide how much money needs to be in the economy at that specific time, and then they disperse that money into banks. Technically, this money does not come for free. This extra money is exchanged for U.S. treasury bonds, which all banks are required to keep. However, banks gain money simply when someone on a computer changes the balance of their account online. Much like if you have a pre-paid debit card, every money, money is automatically transferred (probably from your parent's account) onto a debit card. No paper money is exchanged, your account balance has simply increased. To destroy money, the U.S. treasury bonds exchanged for the money added to the bank'd account, basically given back to the United States. The banks will have to buy more U.S. treasury bonds, so their account balance more-or-less goes back to what it originally was. This is all done by the Central Bank, which is in charge of the federal reserve, but operates independently of the U.S. government.

#money

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