Friday, February 01, 2008

Friday

Well, I can't email from Edline yet, so I can't get the notes out to you from today. Your class lists aren't in Edline for the semester, so I can't even use that. This stinks! I'll try on Monday, if they get the switch over done for the semester courses. It is outlined in the packet.

A few questions to be answered for all students:
"How will we know where everyone's blog is?" - as soon as people post here what their blog name is so I get an address to their blog, I will set up links on here. If I'm really feeling adventurous, I'll even put them in alpha order by class hour. We'll see.
"When do we have to post?" Think of it as a weekend assignment every week. This week, you need two comments by Monday morning. That's why all the questions are on here - to get you thinking about it. Or, you can post questions, thoughts, concerns. Recipes for really good desserts. You know what I mean.

Here are some things to think about with Unit One and PPC's:

1. Take a look at this article: http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20040501faessay83301-p0/daniel-w-drezner/the-outsourcing-bogeyman.html . From this author's perspective, what is the opportunity cost of outsourcing jobs offshore? Based on those costs, what does he suggest the role of the government should be in this growing phenomenon?

2. Does the Internet raise or lower the cost of making friends? As you consider this question, visit a virtual meeting place: the American Intercultural Student Exchange (http://www.aise.com). Or you may wish to participate in a live chat with other people on the Internet. Explain how scarcity relates to the Internet.

3. Visit the White House home page-http://www.whitehouse.gov/. Look under Current News. Choose a topic you think pertains to economics. Does the subject matter pertain to macroeconomics or microeconomics? Is the analysis primarily normative or positive?

4. Determine whether each of the following would cause the economy's PPC to shift inward, outward, or not at all: (a) An increase in average length of average vacation, (b) An increase in immigration, (c) A decrease in the average retirement age, (d) The migration of skilled workers to other countries.

5. Provide some examples of specialized markets or retail outlets. What makes the Web so conducive to specialization?

41 comments:

savannalope said...

I'm answering number 4:

a)This would probably cause the PPC to shift inward because it would be an under use of our resources. (someone should correct me if I'm wrong on this)

b)The PPC would probably go up because we would have an increase in resources, so production would increase.

c)This would probably cause the PPC to shift inward because that would mean less resources, or under use of resources. Or maybe it would stay the same because after retirement people are no longer considered "resources"?

d)For this scenario the PPC might actually remain the same because new people (immigrants, the unemployed) would come in and fill the positions that the people who are going to work oversees left. However, if this did not happen in would cause the graph to move inward because we had a decline of resources.

hope I answered this sufficiently :S

Lydia said...

From this author's perspective, what is the opportunity cost of outsourcing jobs offshore? Based on those costs, what does he suggest the role of the government should be in this growing phenomenon?


I'm commenting on the first article (the outsourcing one). According to the author the opportunity cost of outsourcing jobs is a short term, minor loss in domestic jobs. And while the law of comparative advantage shows that this phenomenon will actually be good of the economy in the long run, he claims that the small cost of temporary job losses is far overexaggerated because they create compelling anecdotes that we hear on the news and political debates, telling us how terrible foreign competition is.

In order to calm some fears about gloablization, the author proposes two different strategies to work hand-in-hand. The first is to create a program extending benefits to displaced workers who lost their jobs to outsourcing. This will quiet fears about job losses and people going hungry. But the other thing he proposes is to do absolutely nothing. Government should not get involved in the globablization war at all and instead open the borders to free trade. This will not only create jobs but allow for economic growth that will ultimately overshadow any temporary losses.

martywiese said...

Question #4:

a) An increase in the average length of an average vacation would cause an underuse of resources (in response to Savannah's uncertainty, I think she's right about that...) To be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure what this would do to the PPC. I would assume it would cause it to shift inward, but I thought that the curve itself only shifted if something caused the amount of available resources to decrease. As far as I can ascertain, an increase in vacation time wouldn't so much decrease the amount of resources available, but just cause the underuse of them. I know this was marked as a point closer to the origin than any of the curves on the PPC graph we studied. Is that the same in this instance, too? It seems like it'd be more appropriate; the human resources are still there, they're just not being put to use...

b) An increase in immigration would cause the PPC to shift outward by increasing the amount of resources available. By having a greater amount of people enter the economy as consumers, the need for more goods and services would also increase, allowing for more work and a greater possibility for production. Previously, there would not have been as many people in the work force to allow this; with a new surge of immigrants, the amount of available resources is augmented.

c) An decrease in the average retirement age would lead to either underuse of resources or a loss of resources. I think it really depends on the reasons that the retirment age is decreasing. If those people retiring early are not fit for work, then their early retirement is more of a byproduct of that illness, and there is a decrease in resources. Whether those people retired or continued trying to work in their ill state, they would still supply the economy with less human resources than previously as their effectiveness declines. If the retirees are retiring early solely due to the fact that they have enough money to do so and do not wish to work any longer, then it'd be more of an underuse of resources. The human resources are still available and fit for work, they just choose not to. Either way you word it, I assume it would still have a similar effect on the PPC, causing it to shift inward.

d) As Savannah said, what happens following the emmigration of migrant workers from our country really determines what happens to the PPC. If new skilled workers who hadn't previously entered the workforce take over the jobs of those that departed, then the PPC could remain unchanged. However, if the skilled workers are not replaced, then the PPC would shift inward to reflect a decrease in the amount of available resources.

Sorry if any of these answers seemed kind of uncertain... Some really seemed to depend on the aftereffects of such events. Either way, hope they're good enough!

KM said...

One of the hardest part of Econ is...not to overthink it. :) Since none of us can see into the future, you must take the statement as it is, with nothing else - what will happen if "x" happens? (Don't think, well then Y and Z happen, so X will really do this, but if Y didn't happen and Q happened, Z might happen....it will drive you nuts!)

I'll give answers after Monday - but you all are thinking about it, and that's cool. :)

EssenceofErika said...

Determine whether each of the following would cause the economy's PPC to shift inward, outward, or not at all: (a) An increase in average length of average vacation, (b) An increase in immigration, (c) A decrease in the average retirement age, (d) The migration of skilled workers to other countries.

a) A longer vacation means less people are working to produce less goods which in essence creates the curve to go inward.

b) An increase in immigration counts as an increase in population and ups the number of goods being produced if these people go to work. This would cause the curve to expand outwards.

c)A decrease in the average retirement age would cause nothing if the same amount of people stayed in the work force. I'm confused about what this means, are you referring to more and more people dropping out of the production of goods? In which case the graph would be likely to curve inward? (not sure!)

d)This scenario leads me to think the graph will stay the same. People are still working on the same goods production which would still benefit the curve just the same. Unless the curve didn't record the goods being produced oversees, then the graph may curve inwards...once again it's a gray area there.

EssenceofErika said...

5. Provide some examples of specialized markets or retail outlets. What makes the Web so conducive to specialization?

Slogan and Logo making companies, construction and roofing supply companies, Kohler faucets, Whirlpool bath, Polo Ralph Lauren.com, American Eagle Outfitters, Victoria's Secret.

These examples are just a drop in the bucket of how many industries have specialized markets and retail outlets located on the internet. The intervet is so conducive to specialization because it is easy to use and very wide with results. For instance, a person heavier set could be struggling on shopping at normal stores for plus size clothes. With the click of a button at home, the person can then be happy to find all different types of clothing in every size imaginable from the comfort of their home! Or a self employed contractor finds difficulty in getting a custom color from his local hardware store but once he logs onto google, he finds endless opportunities for his next project! The internet supplies a tremendous range of choices in specialization for every consumer making it extremely conducive in today's marketing society. (I hope I'm onto something with that!)

Vicky said...

5) Specialization of labor is rampant on the internet because of the large market that internet reaches. Like Erika said, it allows people to find things that they might not be able to find in a store. It also, however, allows people to find businesses that they would not ordinarily be able to find. For example, I sew and it would be very hard for me to find parts for my sewing machine in an ordinary store, as it is from the 1950's. The internet, however, would allow me to find these parts at a store in Georgia, for example, that ten years ago I might have never been able to find. The internet allows us to focus on a specific part of the market for goods or services (such as parts for 1950's Necci sewing machine) This is a good thing for both producers (because it is very hard to find customers that want to buy old sewing machine parts) and consumers (because it is very hard to find these parts). It's a good thing for the economy.

Lyndsay Gavin said...

4. a) A shift would be made inward as less people working is less time used for production = less use of resources.
b) A shift outward because there would be more laborers, thus more resources
c) Not so sure on this one. I believe it would shift inward as there would be less people working and therefore less use of resources.
d)Variable. Does creating more jobs mean an increase in resources if they are not in the US? Or perhaps a decrease because Americans may lose jobs. They could also stay the same depending on the filling of such jobs, etc.

JOSH said...

I am commenting on number 4 as well. Before i answer the question i had a question about the ppc. in our packet, most of the graphs show "consumer goods" as x axis and "capitol goods" as y axis. is this just an easy example to use or is this like the base model to think about when answering these questions?

a)I think that the PPC would stay at the same place and the point on the curve would switch. The people going on the vacations would not be producing their normal products from there jobs, however, the people that are profiting from the vacation are consequently producing more because of the longer stay of the vacationers. ex) the iron worker isn't producing as many shovel heads but the hawaian drink shack is pounding out pina coladas. This case isn't give and take of material resources but instead the give and take of the people producing the products.

b)i agree that immigration would move the ppc out. the increase number of people would increase the possible products being made.

c)i would think that the decrease in retirement age would act similarly to situation a. (sorry im getting in one mindset. especially if it is completely off) The increase in retired people would create a decrease in the products they were all making. however, the companies that make products for retired people: fancy cars, dentures, and viagra, would find a large increase in there sales.

d)I am thinking the same thing here about the gray area. If the skilled workers replace people of the same jobs, then curve will stay the same. if the workers come in addition to the other workers the curve will shift outward because of the increased ability to produce products.

Lyndsay Gavin said...

5) Specialization markets mean the company trade only one commodity. Retail outlets could include Banana Republic, Pier one, or Victoria's secret.
The web makes specialization accessible and practical because audiences across the country (and world) can view products. Owning a store in one area while selling a specialized product may garner little business, but owning an online store where just a few people from many different areas view the product obviously increases business and simplifies specialization of unique products.

caitlin said...

#4

a) Since people are vacationing more and working less, the economy will not be using its resources to their greatest use. This will result in an inward shift.

b) An increase in immigration will create more workers, which will create a larger resource.

c) Possibly, retiring early will create a shift inward because we will have less people working. Then again it may also stay the same because as people retire, new people enter the workforce. Wouldn't the economy already have had problems with equaling people retiring with people just starting work? I'm leaning more towards it staying the same.

d) I would think that the curve would stay the same if the immigrants fill in the open positions, but they could also create a shift outward because they are adding more workers/resources to the economy.

BethanyStoppel said...

An answer to question 1: The author believes that the oppurtunity cost of outsourcing jobs overseas is the lose of white-collar IT jobs. The author believes that the government shouldn't interfer in the outsourcing. For all of the outsourced white-collar jobs more management positions in the US are created. Also, the creation of different jobs in different industries takes the place of the outsourced white-collar jobs. The cause and effect relationship believed to be between unemployment and outsourcing is mearly a political tool that candidates use in order to get elected.

JoelleBender said...

Specialization markets focus on one specific thing to sell, such a certain article of clothing or parts to a specific machine. Retail outlets can be focussed more on one good, or sell a large variety. Some examples include any brand name store you find in malls across the country. The internet helps both markets because in a store, the entire selection may not be there, and not everybody will be able to get there. THe internet allows people to shop for whatever they may need on their own time, and gaurentees that the product will be available. For example, a specilization market probably won't flourish in a small town because everybody doesn't need that specific good, but online everyone who needs that good has access to their store.

tegen said...

Determine whether each of the following would cause the economy's PPC to shift inward, outward, or not at all: (a) An increase in average length of average vacation, (b) An increase in immigration, (c) A decrease in the average retirement age, (d) The migration of skilled workers to other countries.

(a) An increase in the average length of a vacation would cause the PPC to shift inward. A decrease in the number of people that are working, would also decrease the number of resources used to produce something.

(b)An increase in immigration would cause the PPC to shift outward because there would be more people using the resources to create more goods.

(c)I'm alittle confused on this one as well. To me, it would seem like if the retirement age was decreased, then more people would exit the workforce, thus creating an inward shift. But, the PPC could also stay the same because as long at there are just as many people entering the workforce, as there are retiring, it would still equal the same amount of people. So I'm not sure which one it is. :S

(d)In the way that I see the PPC would stay the same. As the skilled workers left for different countries, other workers such as immigrants or the unemployed would fill the positions of those that left, thus keeping the amount of people the same.

BethanyStoppel said...

Answering question 4: a) An increase in the average length of the average vacation would be an underuse of resources and force the economy's PPC to shift inward. It would put more people out of the world of work longer and decrease the amount of usable labor capital. b)An increase in immigration would make the economy's PPC shift outward because it would increase the amount of avaliable labor. c) A decrease in the average retirement age would cause the economy's PPC to shift inward. The labor force would be decreased and would theirfore take available resources away. d) The migration of skilled workers to other countries would force our economy's PPC to shift inward. A brain drain would decrease the amount of skilled workers and would therefore decrease our potential productivity. Unless we have new workers taking the place of the skilled workers leaving the labor capital would decrease and cause an inward shift.

Tanvirkamal said...

In light of my other comment not making it on the page, I am reposting...

HEY EVERYBODY!! Hit up my page for a fight...

Ok so on the basis of number 2, I think it makes it much harder to really create useful friends. From my previous use of myspace i can personally vouch that anyone will be your friend on the internet, in real life forget it. Some people run well with others, and some just arent for you, so why bother people? On the internet, I can have forty girlfriends and three million friends, will I meet or even hang with any single one of them? hell no, there isn't enough time and there isn't enough brain capacity for me to handle knowing all of them in real life. To relate scarcity, there is almost no scarcity in terms of potential friends, so there has to be ASTRONOMICAL (well not really) potential to be good close friend out of the few people that will talk and relate to you. Now this exchange thing is great because it helps people that are from out of the country to be easier to acquaint with people of their host families. But it is only for an intro to the host family, to make friends they have to go out and voice themselves, and say who they are, no internet website will allow someone to be taken seriously. Yahoo has chat servers, and anyone you on, you will no doubt see people yelling, swearing, probably making death threats, and then you have the creepy people who make very gaudy comments and moods that bring about an "ewwwwww" kind of feeling to your guts. That gives the cost a gigantic leap to making friends with people on the internet and the scarcity of such people is sadly really low. I could seriously go on forever about how you shouldn't use the internet to make friends, but it would get way too boring so I think thats enough.

Oh and this is going to a VERY fun semester, I will make sure of it, many of you know I can do that...

tegen said...

5. Provide some examples of specialized markets or retail outlets. What makes the Web so conducive to specialization?

Some examples of specialized markets are American Eagle, Cavenders, Victoria's Secret, and Bath and Body Works.

The internet is so conducive to specialization because of it's efficiency and accessibility. Today, anyone can find what they are looking for on the internet with just a click of a button. The internet offers a wide variety of goods to cosumers and often at a better price. Therefore making it much more appealing. It is also easier to use the internet to find products that are hard to find. With google or any other search engine one can find a wide array of search results.

tegen said...

By the way, because I forgot.
my own blog name is:
http://tegenbuchli.blogspot.com/

magila said...

4. Determine whether each of the following would cause the economy's PPC to shift inward, outward, or not at all: (a) An increase in average length of average vacation, (b) An increase in immigration, (c) A decrease in the average retirement age, (d) The migration of skilled workers to other countries.

A) The average length of a vacation would likely result in an inward shift because any decrease in work time means less is produced, though some may argue that increased vacation may give people more time to relax and therefore they would be more productive with the time they do spend working.

B) An increase in immigration could result in an outward movement of the curve because of the increase in workers and production. However, if more resources are not provided along with more workers thereby providing the workers with products to make, the curve would stay the same and there would also be a ton of unemployed immigrants in the country.

C) A decrease in the retirement age would result in an inward movement due to the fact that less workers are available for production.

D) This would also result in an inward movement because with fewer skilled workers, we simply cannot produce as much. We would also be an unskilled country, which would be kind of a downer…!

JohnKotz said...

# 1) The author believes that the opportunity cost is that of short term loss of jobs within the United States. The author believes that the loss is being exaggerated and really should not be of conern to Americans but he also states that it should not go unnoticed.

The author believes that the government should not adapt a policy of protectionism but rather let the economy be and have things take care of themselves through a competitive process between companies within the economy.

JohnKotz said...

2) I think the internet lowers the cost of making friends because it can be done in less time so the opportunity cost of doing so is not as high as without the internet. Although internet friendships may not be as fulfilling as real friendships, the cost of doing so is still lower.
I think that scarcity relates to the internet because people look to the internet to give them just about everything and anything and while it can do a lot, it can't do everything and this is where the scarcity comes in.

Gan said...

#2

The internet lowers the cost of friends. Consider the personal and opportunity cost of having and making friends. First of all, to make a friend you have to step outside your comfort zone and engage in a converstion. Second of all, you have to spend time with this person in order to form a relationship, which adds up to numerous different opportunity costs. Lastly, you must find someone who has the same characteristics as you, which sometimes can be the toughest task in having friends because there isnt always a wide range of people that you talk to everyday.
The internet eliminates all of these costs. An online conversation doesnt involve stepping out of one comfort zone because frankly, they might have no clue who you are. Spending time getting to know someone over the internet is a lot less time consuming because it can be more time convienient, with emails that you can respond to at anytime, or messaging which allows a lot of multi-tasking. Most importantly, the internet is home to millions of people, scarcity is not really a term that applies to the internet. The world wide web eliminates the scarcity of people, and characteristics for the matter, that can make friends hard to come by.

Gan said...

4) For these answers im going to give my answer and then play devils advocate because thats just the mood i am in today.
A)Increase in vacation would cause an inward move because of the underuse of resources, but the workers may be more productive upon return from thier carribean cruise. Also, more people may enter the workforce because of the higher perks.

B)Increase in immigration would cause and outward move if thier were open jobs because of the increse in resources. If there were no available jobs, this would not move the PPC because the only stat that would change would be the unemployment

C)Cause an inward shift because thier would be availabiltiy for products to be made, without the people to make them. But on the other hand, this could cause an increase because new, fresh, young workers would replace them and may be more productive by instituting the use of technology.

D)This would cause an inward shift as well because like "C", there would be materials to do things with, and no people to do the things. But, as Marty said, if thier postions were quickly filled by other skilled workers thier would be no change, or it is also a possiblity of other countries, ones that received the skilled workers become more productive and we begin to outsource. This would cause an inward shift as well because in that case we would have workers with nothing to do.

Laura said...

He thinks that the O.C. of outsourcing jobs is a small loss in domestic jobs when compared to the economy as a whole. He thinks that the government should help these people out that are effected directly. He believes that blaming unemployment on outsourcing is rediculous and in the end will help the US economy. The government should not make laws protecting the US from outsourcing because it would be more harmful that helpful in the end.

belzmat said...

#4

a. The resources would be underused, if vacation lengths increased, so the ppc would go down

b. The the population would go up, threrefore more resources and a PPC to go up

c. The underuse of resources would lead the ppc to go down

d. The ppc would probably stay relatively the same, because the migration would still keep the curve abou the same

Laura said...

4. (A) I think that an increase in the average vacation would shift the economy's PPC inward. It would cause an under use of our resources.
(B) This would increase our PPC since there would be an increase in the number of people working.
(C)This may cause the PPC to shift inward. Because there would be less people working since more people would be retired.
(D) I think that this would cause the PPC to move inward since there are probably not enough skilled workers to fill the positions of those leaving. If they were unskilled jobs I would think that the PPC would remain about the same.

JOSH said...

to question 2..

i think that it depends on what you consider a friend. if talking over the interent is enough of a friend then i thinkt the internet lowers cost of friends. however, if you want some one you can sit down with or actually do things together then i think the internet raises the cost of friendship, not neccessarily in the amount you spend but in the amount of things you are giving up. if you sit on the computer all day chatting with someone, you are missing all that time you could have been doing something with friends you know as people, not only as pixels. Scarcity is definatley relative to the internet. like tony said, there is tons of people out there who are willing to be your friend on the internet but how many of them are actually normal people who would be your friend in a face to face situation?

fileben said...

I'm answering number 1:

The author is just saying that the opportunity cost for outsourcing offshore is grossly exaggerated, when, in fact, it is so low that outsourcing will help the economy in the long run. He basically wants the government to take a more hands-off approach and allow for some international trade.

fileben said...

I'm also answering number 4:

a)PPC shifts inward (less time for working)

b)PPC shifts outward (more workers)

c)PPC shifts inward (less workers)

d)PPC shifts inward (less workers)

johndav said...

In response to #4:

(a) An increase in the average length of vacation would most likely result in an inward shift of the PPC. Adding vacation time means cutting work-time, ultimately resulting in an underuse of resources.
(b) An increase in immigration would mean more people are able to work and produce, therefore resulting in an outward shift of the PPC.
(c) A decrease in the average retirement age would mean more workers are able to stop working earlier, therefore decreasing the amount of workers working in a given period of time and their corresponding output. Therefore, this would result in an inward shift of PPC.
(d) The migration of skilled workers out of the country effectively means we are losing workers, decreasing resources and productivity as well. This would cause an inward shift.

taylork said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
taylork said...

4.
A) An increase in vacation would cause a decrease in the amount of time people spend working, and producing resources, and using resources, so the PPC would shift inward.
B)If we had an increase in immigration, our population would increase, causing the PPC to shift outward.
C)I would think that the PPC wouldn't shift at all, because even though the people are retiring, you have to wonder if there will still be the same amount of people entering the workforce when they are leaving it, so it might not change at all. Or it will shift inward, because less people would be producing goods, causing underuse of resources.
D)If skilled workers leave for other countries, and more workers take their place, then the PPC would stay the same. However, if like people retiring, no one was there to fill their positions the PPC would shift inward.

taylork said...

2) I think the internet lowers the cost of making friends. By using the internet, it lowers the opportunity cost, because it allows you to do things in a much quicker manner, and it gives you the ability to do more things at once, or communicate with more than one person at a time. Scarcity doesn't really relate to the internet, in that nothing is really scarce. There are millions of websites that allow you to meet millions of different kinds of people. On the internet, you will never run out of place to chat, or people to meet. However, I agree with Josh in that spending so much time on the internet can take away from developing real relationships with people you see on a daily basis.

Anonymous said...

Answer to 2:

Internet lowers the cost of making friends significantly. It helps shy people, like me, talk to others. I don't think it's a great way to make friends though. Certainly, it takes less time, less money (for transportation, etc), less effort, less everything to make a friend online. But you have to consider your standards for a friend. It is significantly harder to form a real bond with a person, over the internet. And I belive those friendships that are strictly online are not completely legitimite, because of how easy it is to pretend to be someone else. The internet does lower to cost to connect with others, but it doesn't lower the cost of making true friends.

johndav said...

In response to #2:

Assuming that someone can make just as good of a friend through interacting a few times a day via the internet, then I’d have to believe that the Internet unquestionably lowers the cost of making friends. But for those who find themselves consumed with internet friends, perhaps there also exists certain opportunity costs. Like Josh said, while spending hours on the computer chatting to “friends,” you are equally missing out on quality time to spend building actual relationships with people. Furthermore, can it be said the relationships sustained via the Internet may not be as fulfilling as those which might consist of actual face-to-face contact? If we assume that this is true, then the scarcity exhibited by the Internet is certainly present, existing in the form of (or lack of) the “quality” of what may be considered a friend. True relationships between true friends, initiated solely through the internet, are undeniably scarce in comparison to their counterpart, those formed first by legitimate, face-to-face contact.

Anonymous said...

A: The PPC would shift inward. As people increase their vacation time, they are cutting into one of their main sources of capital- labor. People would still be consuming goods, but increasing the amount of time where they were unproductive.

B: The PPC would shift outward. As people moved into the country, there would be an increase in capital (more laborers.) The amount of goods that are consumed would also increase due to the increase in population.

C: An early retirement age would cause a shift inward on the PPC. These people would be leaving the work force (and taking their capital with them) at an earlier age, leaving the economy with less than it had before. This would be an under use of labor.

D: As most people have said, immigration can have different effects on the economy. If new workers step up to take the place of those leaving the country, the PPC will remain unchanged. If the jobs weren’t filled, however, the graph would shift inward as less goods were being produced.

Anonymous said...

5) The internet allows for businesses to find their niche. They are able specialize in a very specific product, and sell it to customers around the world. This is handy, as businesses may not be able to find such a demand in their geographical surroundings (especially when it’s a place as small as Fort.)

I personally love the sound of vintage saxophones, so when I’m in the market for a new one, the internet is the first place I look. I can search across the world, and find exactly what I’m looking for, while the local stores don’t even come close.

The internet can befit both the business and the consumer by allowing people to shop on a broader scale.

Brent said...

I'm answering the first question for the foreign affiars article.

The author believes that the direct effect of outsourcing jobs will leave some Americans out of a job, but he believes the number of predicted job loss due to outsourcing is over exaggerated. He says that the comparative advantage of trade by outsourcing will benefit the US economy in the future compared to the loss of the jobs in the short term. Personally, I think this author can write this so biasedly because he or no one else he knows has been affected by outsourcing. Daniel Drezner looks at the big picture, and not at the many individuals who have lost so much due to this phenomenon. I'm not saying that outsourcing should not happen, but the way it should be done should change as to not adversely affect those employees who have done nothing to deserve being let go, or laid off.

David then suggests that the government should not get involved at all. He mentions that under pressure, politicians are usually persuaded by the public or the media to take action on an issue even if it may not be the best choice.

I got really worked up reading this article. I really do not like this author at all. Sure, I agree with his general view that outsourcing is great for the economy as a whole. But the way he calls 220,000 Americans losing jobs each year to outsourcing is not some amount that should be considered unproblematic, which he does. He doesn't see the individual when writing this article at all, how they can't pay their bills because they don't have a job, how they can't support their kids, how they get deeper into debt when they never should have been let go to begin with. So many corporations make so many horrible decisions, it just pisses me off!

Brent said...

I'm answering the PPC curve questions.

A) The PPC curve would move inward, if we consider labor a resource.

B) The PPC curve would grow since more labor would be added to the work force.

C) The PPC curve would declince as the workforce population would decline.

D) The curve would once again decrease as the amount of the workforce would declince.

JOSH said...

i'm just writing this to try and log onto my personal blog.

JOSH said...

same thing again