Taxes- How Does The Government Spend Money?

The government puts out taxes for us to pay so we can in turn pay for certain services that we may not know we use. When it comes to the Internet, the federal government appears to be putting its money to good use. There are hundreds of government and government-related websites, and the list keeps growing and improving. From contact numbers and voting records on your local elected officials, to down loadable tax forms and important pamphlets, there is an enormous amount of free, useful information available, all care of the U.S. government.Taxpayers in high-income households get the least benefit from their tax dollars — while people in the lowest-income bracket get an eight-to-one windfall. The government is spending 51%, which is $1,228 billion, on the military.

Savings and Debt

This article from the New York Times is discussing how easy it is for many Americans to become in debt. Americans spent one in seven of their take-home dollars on debt payments last year, up from one in nine in 1980. People tend to get into debt so easily because few consumers are able to calculate the true costs of something. I find it easy to believe that it is so easy to be in debt because many people enjoy spending money they do not yet have. When people attempt to get out of debt, on most occasions they dig themselves a deeper hole. Credit cards also help build up debt. People feel that they can spend more money than they actually can. Credit card debt is now at over $880 billion according to the Federal Reserve Bank. Penalty fees are at $17.1 billion in 2006. Another reason for the amount of debt created by Americans, is that fees and penalties are confusing and hard to understand. People just know they are getting a credit card and that they can spend money before actually seeing it.

Critique of GDP Podcast

I viewed Corina and Ivona's GDP Podcast. The content and information provided in the podcast was very interesting and informative. I learned more about GDP by listening to the podcast. The recording is a little bit quiet but their words are clear and listenable. I enjoyed the dialoguebecause it seemed like they were just having a regular conversation about GDP and as if they were not reading the information off of something. The images are good but i don't think there are enough pictures. They do contribute and and match the verbal content, however there are additional images that could have been included to make the podcast better. I really like the style of this podcast. It felt as if they were just speaking with one another without a written dialogue. I found it very interesting and creative. I learned different things from this podcast that i did not previously know. It was extremely educational. My favorite part of the podcast is towards the end when the two women are kind of arguing about drug dealers in each of their countries. I found that very funny and entertaining. This is a link to Corina and Ivona's Podcast.

U.S. Trade Deficit: Getting Better?

The article from The New York Times is called 'Rising Exports Putting Dent In Trade Gap." The article states that many companies will rely heavily on generating more than half of their sales through foreign countries. A trade deficit is defined as a negative difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time. The U.S. trade deficit is likely to go down in the future because the United States is sending more American-made products to different countries across the world. Due to the weak dollar, Americans goods and services are more competitive in foreign markets. Some examples of products that America is sending all over the world are vehicles created by general Motors, KFC, diesel engines, factory machinery, earth-moving equipment and the digital components used to build a modern telecommunications backbone. A weak dollar can in fact be a good thing for the Untied States because it has became more expensive to buy for European countries.

Student Loans - Beware

People take out student loans to help pay for the expensive costs of being a college student. These culinary school students took out such large loans because some culinary schools may have two-year programs that may cost up to $48,000. Many culinary students come from blue-collar families and do not have the financial experience to navigate the world of college costs, Ms. Sykes Hendee said. “The majority of students are the first people going to college in their families,” she said. “It’s not the rich and famous going to culinary school.” I think student loans are a good idea if you are almost 100% positive that you will have a steady income straight out of college. At this moment, i do not plan to take out a student loan but if the situation occur es in which it would be a good idea than i will in the future.

Compound Interest And The Rule Of 72

Compound interest refers to the fact that whenever interest is calculated, it is based not only on the original principal, but also on any unpaid interest that has been added to the principal. The more frequently interest is compounded.

The Rule of 72

The Rule of 72 is a very simple way of illustrating the growth potential of compound interest.

However, the above Rule of 72 merely gives an approximation of the time needed to retain an investment before it doubles in value.

Insider Trading Scandal-What Happened?

On March 1st, an insider trading ring was broken up Wall Street. These traders knew that stocks would either rise or fall and they let stock holders know these tips. If these people knew these tips beforehand than they would make more money off of either selling or buying these stocks. It is illegal to give out information on stock prices before they occur. It's basically cheating.

Dow Down 416 pts!-Why?

On Tuesday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped down 416 points. This is the largest drop since the Stock Market first opened after 9/11. The Dow went down due to a world wide sell off. The key economic findings follow sharp declines Tuesday, which began following a drop in the frothy stock markets of mainland China that raised questions about whether a larger market correction was in the offing. Stocks fell in most of Asia earlier Wednesday although the Shanghai Composite Index, whose nearly 9 percent drop set off the domino-effect selling, closed up nearly 4 percent. Stocks were also off in Europe, but the declines were milder than on Tuesday. Even though it may seem like this is a major drop in the stock market, it really can't compare to the numbers of the Great Depression or 1987. I will keep my stocks as of now because I believe the stock market will be back to normal by next week the latest. I have heard that it won't be the same until the summer time but i don't believe that. Now is a great time to buy stocks since the prices drastically dropped and this is probably the cheapest it will be all year.

Opportunity Costs

When econonomists speak on opportunity costs, they are talking about the cost we pay to give something up in order to gain something else.

Types Of Economic Systems

A traditional economy is an economic system in which resources are allocated by inheritance, and which has a strong social network and is based on primitive methods and tools.

A planned economy is an economic system in which the state or government controls the factors of production and makes all decisions about their use and about the distribution of income.

A market economy is an economic system in which the production and distribution of goods and services takes place through the mechanism of free markets guided by a free price system rather than by the state in a planned economy.

A mixed economy is an economy that has a mix of economic systems. It is usually defined as an economy that contains both private-owned and state owned enterprises or that combines elements of capitalism and socialism, or a mix of market economy and command economy.

Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization, based upon common ownership of the means of production. Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control.

Stock Market Game 1-Intial Investment Strategy

My investment strategy for this stock market game is to invest in companies that have a positive rating for the month. I also invested in companies that have been very successful throughout the 52 week period.

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