This Week's Activities. Government Spending and Such Stuff

This week was actually really interesting. We delved deeper into the circular flow chart that  out American economy is based on (modified free market). In this, the government collects taxes and spends them and gives subsidies and creates infastructure.... the government does ALOT. There are different types of spending that the government performs that I didn't even know existed! I thought that all spending is necessary, or mandatory spending. I didn't know that discretionary spending was a thing. And I found out more about Medicaid and Medicare, which always seemed like just this cloud of something far away in the distance of my mind that I knew was a topic of political discussion, but I never really knew what it did or for who. I mean, I personally learned a lot this week in Econ and I really hope that I got a great grade on my test so that 3rd block can get milk and cookies!! Let's go 3rd block!! WHOOHOO

America's "Sweet Tooth" is Loosing Its Luster!

Forget Valentine's Day, the American people are disregarding chocolate like crazy! American jobs that make candy have been on the decline over a number of years now. Upon reading, I found out that Americans consume only 5.5 pounds of cocoa beans a year.... like.. . what the heck?! I definitely thought we ate WAY more than that. I think I probably eat 5.5 pounds in a month. But as reporter Annalyn Kurtz from CNN News delves deeper into the decreasing job industry, she gets a statement from Hester Jeon, an IBISWorld analyst who specializes in covering food retailers and producers, and he states, "Producers from Hershey to Nestlé to Mars, are increasingly relying on computers and robotics to create products more efficiently – they're relying less on physical labor." But one of the main questions still presses: Why is this happening in the first place? There are two broader trends that are portraying themselves, and those are the fact technology is eliminating human labor and producers have shifted some work overseas. Companies, such as Hershey's (the biggest American producer of chocolate) invested $300 million in new machinery that would make chocolate 24/7. There were a lot of people who were trained to control and oversee the machinery, but they do not need as many people to wrap and do the jobs of the machines. Some of the factories, such as one in California, have shut down and moved across boarders or seas, like to Mexico. This is a definite loss of American jobs! I mean, I love chocolate AND I love American ingenuity, and I think that the people should be given the chance to pick up the slack and make the money they deserve. America was build off the toil and labor of men and women in this nation, not the oil and iron of machines to do all the work. Sure they can probably increase product efficiency in the market, but they can never outdo the hand-made quality of real items, especially the chocolate that we all know and love. For a few more figures, leaders in chocolate productions, and other information, go to:

http://economy.money.cnn.com/2014/02/13/chocolate-making-jobs-on-the-decline/?iid=SF_E_River

This week was a WHIRLWIND of events and lessons! I mean, we covered stuff from circular flow charts in market economies to the behind the scenes of McDonald's cooperation, and let me tell you... I didn't know McDonald's was such a try-hard back in 2007 (no offense intended if you are reading this, major owner of McDonald's, I still love your fries!). One of the main topics of discussion this week for us was incentives. This is why people basically do what they do and make choices, economically speaking. If you cut the grass for $20 at your house, then you have just undergone the incentive of $20! Simple stuff right? Well it gets a little more complicated: Theres this whole flow chart with a thousand arrows that shows how resources are moved according to profit... but just because it gets more complicated does not mean that it is not easy to understand! So say you are selling something good like wheat. You are a nice farmer just trying to sell your wheat to people. Where do you go?! You sell your resources to the factor market. From there, businesses can buy that to make their products, like bread. So the money goes to you from the business, and they get their resource. Basic buy and sell, right? THEN the companies make their bread and this goes into the product market, where another "individual" or household (Even you, the nice farmer) can go and buy that bread! In this way, a free enterprise economy. Money, resources, and business all flow in this way. It just happens, ya know? People want and other people can give. It's life! I mean I think it is pretty simple and basically the way that things just happen! But I hope I made it a little clearer for yall. 

Connecti-CUT... More Like Connecti-ADD!

So, it is easy to say that there's A LOT of action in the economy happening-- I mean, people are always coming up with new ideas and plans for the future-- but, a story that stuck out to me is the idea of a higher minimum wage in Connecticut. As of today, Washington state is the state with the highest minimum wage in the country with a whopping $9.32 an hour. Governor Dannel Malloy wants to have the minimum wage of $10.10 in effect by the year 2017. Over the years until then, he plans to try to get it to build up (DON'T WORRY! I thought he was just going to jump right in with a dramatic change, too!). This idea is bouncing around the government officials and in Congress, and as reporter Chris Isidore from CNN puts it in his article, "Connecticut Gov. Proposes $10.10 Minimum Wage**," "'Connecticut is more likely to pass the increase than the U.S. Congress, since both houses of the General Assembly are controlled by Democrats.'" If you ask me, this is a far fetched assumption, but hey! I'm not one who likes to judge ('<') 

I do know that I think the idea of raising minimum wage means well, but when applied to the real world, it would create less jobs and the employers would cut back on more to be able to pay their workers. After all of this cycle is through and through, the producers would just need to raise the prices on their products in order to get the money they want and need. We would be back in the same issue of prices too high for products, even though workers are receiving more pay. It's definitely a dog eat dog world out there! 

** Article published on February 5, 2014
http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/05/news/economy/connecticut-minimum-wage/index.html?iid=SF_E_River

Basically... Here's the Lay-down.

WHOOHOO. Are ya'll ready for the biggest, best, most radical blog experience? It's time for economics to be simplified not multiplied, understood not disregarded, and honored by all for the AMAZING things that it accomplishes! Economics is not as hard as it seems and basically boils down to simple opinions and facts that run the world, because without economics.... 

aksjghsvn;vnAOBDFOBSLDGFAFBNDJBAD;BNSFJGASGA'NBLADKBNALD
DKFJBDFBNOAD;N;ODL\





^^^ You can't see what I wrote. WHICH means it's nothing! AND THAT'S the world without economics. So let's take the time to take it step by step and really understand What's Poppin' This Week!