Government spending chart

Review the chart below, upload it to your blog and make two observations about it.

It's official: USA in a Recession

This week the government finally announced our economy is in a Recession and actually has been in one since December of 2007.

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Post on your Blog the following:

1. The difference between the economics terms Recession and Depression.
2. Define the terms GDP (Gross Domesetic Product) and GNP (Gross National Product).
3. Identify the beginning and ending dates of a previous recession in the 2nd half of the 20th century. Link to recession histories
4. Explain how government policies can help end a recession.
5. Were there any economic recessions prior to the Great Depression? Why or why not?

Should the US bail out Ford, Chrysler and General Motors?

Do some research on your own to determine your opinion on this matter.

On your blog please post the following:

1. Three arguments for the government lending them the money they want.


2. Three arguments against the government lending them the money they want.


3. Take a position on the issue and give your reasons.

Link to David Sanger's overview

Link to Mitt Romney's opinion to let them go bankrupt

NY Times opinion piece to bail them out

MarketWatch article about "Big Three" executives' testimony at the Senate Banking Committee on Nov. 18th

Chart upload instructions

How to upload chart:

1. Copy chart from Excel:
2. Click select chart you want to copy
3. Use 'Edit/Copy' pull down command in excel
4. Paste it into MS Paint
5. File save as BMP file
6. Upload to your blog.

If anyone knows an easier way, let me know by posting in teh comments section below.

Westchester Real Estate

I read this article in the Journal News yesterday: Westchester, Putnam sales still slipping. I created this chart using data from an on-line database (link below). Your assignment is to create your own chart from the data, upload it to your blog and make an observation about it.

1. Follow this link to reach the on-line database of real estate statistics over the past ten years.
2. Copy the table into an excel spreadsheet.
3. Make a chart from the data.
4. Upload it to your Blog and make an observation about the data and analyze it.

Observation & analysis example using the chart above:

I didn't realize there is a seasonal pattern to the median housing prices in Westchester. It seems the highest median price occurs in the 3rd quarter of each year. The market demonstrated significant growth over the 1st seven years, but it levelled off over the last three. This is the first time there was a drop in the 3rd quarter prices from the previous year. With the finanacial mess that has happened in September, I wouldn't be surprised if 4th quarter figures for 2008 repeat the negative growth of the 3rd quarter.

Candidate comparison

Look at the websites of the two Presidential candidates: Obama and McCain.

ON YOUR BLOG: Compare their approaches to one of the following:

1. Health care reform
2. Taxes
3. Solution to the financial crisis
4. The war in Iraq
5. Immigration
6. Energy & Environment

Who are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

The US Federal Government decided to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. Do some research on these two entities and post on your blog answers to the following questions:

1. Why and when were they formed?


2. What action did the US government take this past weekend?


3. What is the goverment trying to prevent by backing these two organizations?

Remember: post your answer on your Blog.

Rubrics for final project

Follow the links to the rubrics for your final project:
Business plan document
Investor pitch (presentation to your classmates)

Just for fun: history quiz

Take the civics quiz that is stumping college students accross the country.

2nd semester project: Business Plan

Create a business plan for a new venture! The SBA has a good site for planning small businesses. I've also located a template on the share drive S:\Josephson\Econ\Business Plan for a Startup Business.

This project has the following deliverables:

1. A business plan document including financial projections (see details below) - 50%.
2. A powerpoint "investor presentation" - 30%.
3. Presentation of your pitch to investors - 20%.

You may work alone or with up to two partners. Your business plan must include the following:

1. Executive overview (quick summary - write this last!)
2. Company description (how is your company organized?)
3. Product or service description (what is your product or service?)
4. Marketing plan (how will people know about your product/service?)
5. Operational plan (how will your company run?)
6. Financial projections (how much $ will your company make & when?) useful templates may be found here: http://www.score.org/template_gallery.html
7. Star-up expenses and capitalization (how much $ do you need to start? will you need more before you break even?)

Due dates:

April 17 - Choice of business to launch

May 15 - Business Plan

May 25 - Investor PowerPoint

Class presentations to begin after May 25th

1st Semester Blog Assignments

Here is what is due on your Blogs at the end of the marking period:

1. Microsoft makes offer to buy Yahoo!
2. Is it Too Late for Yahoo?
3. US economy entering a "Recession"?
4. Presidential Candidates
5. Take Survey on E-Chalk
6. Secure your Blog
7. Comment on one of your classmate's Blogs
8. Current event article
9. How much is $87Billion?
10. CPI and inflation

CPI and inflation

On your blog, document the following:

1. Define the following terms:
Consumer Price Index
Inflation
Deflation
Stagflation

2. Review the items used to calculate the CPI. What are you surprised to see on the list? What items are left out of the basket of goods and services used to calculate the CPI?

How much is $87Billion?

Visit this site http://www.crunchweb.net/87billion/ to get some perspective on how much money $87,000,000,000 is.

On your Blog:

1. Define National Debt and Trade Deficit
2. Describe the difference between the two
3. Search the internet to discover the current "National Debt" and "Trade deficit"; post the two numbers on your Blog.
4. In your opinion, which number is hurting the national economy more and why.

Current event article

Using an online resource (msnbc, cnn, cnbc, foxnews, etc.), summarize a current event article on your blog and leave a hyperlink.

Visa's IPO, the Fed's recent actions, Bear Stearns...there is plenty of interesting stuff going on.

Comment on one of your classmate's Blogs

A directory of your fellow student's Blog addresses appears on my econ web-site on the school intranet (it will not be available from outside the school).

Copy the URL below into your browser and visit the Links section of my site.

S:\Josephson\Econ\index.htm

Secure your Blog

Login to your Blog.
Go to Settings Tab
Go to Comments Tab
Choose "Yes" for "Enable Comment Moderation"
Choose "Save settings" button at bottom.

Take control of your Blog

While others are miking up the work-to-date:

1. Create Blog
2. Take survey on e-chalk
3. Presidential candidate post
4. Recession post
5. Yahoo take-over post

Take the time to get to know some of the functionality inherent in blogger.com. Explore the various settings, customize your Blog and update your personal profile.

Take Survey on E-Chalk (Per 3 & 5)

Periods 3 & 5 each have a survey to complete on the resources section of our Class page. Login to E-Chalk and navigate to your classes, choose our class and take the survey.

Presidential Candidates (Per. 3 & 5)

The primary season is in full swing. Visit the web sites of two of the key candidates and write up a comparison of their policies for the US Economy.

The leading Democratic nominees are Clinton and Obama
The leading Republican nominees are McCain and Huckaby

chose two and compare their policies on your Blog.

Period 5: 1st Lab assignment

1. Create your own Blog using the instructions located on the share drive: S:\Josephson\econ_Blogger_instructions.doc
2. Add my blog URL to your browser favorites
3. Add your blog URL to your favorites
4. Post your blog address here on the comments section below
5. Login to your E-chalk account, find my class page and take the "BLOG info" survey in the "Resources" section on the right.

US economy entering a "Recession"? (Per. 3 & 5)

Create a post on your blog that does the following:

1. defines the word "Recession"
2. has a link to a recent article about the US economy that contains the word Recession
3. Offer your opinion of if you think the US is in or is entereing a recession
4. Extra credit: create a graph in excel and upload a graph including recent US indicators of economic growth or decline.

Period 3 Computer Lab 2: Is it Too Late for Yahoo?

Feb. 8th:

1. Visit the New York Times article about Jerry Yang, the CEO of Yahoo!
2. Create a new post on your blog summarizing the article.
3. Make sure you offer your opinion: will the deal with Microsoft happen?

3rd Period 1st Computer Lab

1. Create your own blog using the instructions on the network share drive: S:\Josephson\Econ Blogger instructions
2. Edit your first post and create title: Microsoft makes offer to buy Yahoo!
3. Find a news article about it
4. Make a link to it within the body of your blog
5. Describe the offer Microsoft is making to buy Yahoo within your blog.
6. Predict what the final purchase price will be within your blog.
7. Post a reply/comment to this post on my blog with the URL of your blog.