Final Project

As our days together wind down, the final project is at hand. Picking a topic will probably be the hardest part of this entire process. There is so much going on (economically) in the world, in so many different places, at so many different times. And having to choose just one is gonna be the hardest part. Right now the 3 topics that I am looking into doing are the minimum wage debate over the last 25 years, the stock market crash of '08-'09, or possibly the United States's economic response to the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I chose these 3 topics because I know that I will be able to find a varying amount of information for each but also that there is too much information for me to ever analyze it all.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

"Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that - counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.

"Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans."

As Robert Kennedy said in the except above "If we should judge America by [gross national product it] counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear out our highways of carnage." He further goes into what judging American by the gross national product means. It would include all of the small things that harm us as a country and that cause destruction. The funny thing is, it wouldn't include the good things such as quality of education or dedication to our country. Measuring by this would tell us everything bad about America, not why we are proud to say that we are Americans. 

According to investopedia, GNP " is a measure of a country's economic performance, or what its citizens produce whether they produced these items within its borders". I personally believe that it would be very hard to measure the overall health and happiness of America in economic terms. Honestly what are we going to do, take a poll? And when we do take that poll, how much of it can we really take seriously... maybe 50%. So there should be other indicators. Yes, we should take the overall health and happiness of the country into consideration but how exactly would we do that. I currently don't see a way for that to happen but it may be possible. We just need someone with the right mind and resources to figure it out. 

Less is More and More is better

We all know the saying "Less is more" but think about it. Is less really more? When it comes to things like junk food (when you're trying to start a new diet) or maybe even homework (if you are a student) then yes. Less is definitely more. On the other hand when it comes to things such as information about a certain person, product, or thing...less may not be more. Less is a terrible mistake and may even cause your hair to burn off (just saying).
Anyways.
Once upon a time there was a girl (let's just call her Laura). Now Laura loved Youtube and doing hair so one day she said to herself "Hey! How about I create a hair tutorial on Youtube of me wanding my hair!" And that's exactly what she did. Following her hairdressers instructions (without reading the label or being told any other information) she sprays her hair with TRESemme hairspray and proceeds to wand it. Holding her hair for the allotted amount of time she sits and waits. Then BAM! She removes the wand from her hair (sorta) and realizes that her hair is still stuck to the wand.

Here is the link to the video for your own personal enjoyment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdVuSvZOqXM

I see where she's coming from. I mean if my stylist told me to use a certain spray I would. But I think I would also get more information about how and when to use it. Perhaps it was a time thing and she held out her numbers a little too long or she didn't receive the information needed to determine how long the wand should have stayed. In this case, the less information she had definitely was not for her betterment and caused her to have a terrible run in with a wanding iron.
Many times certain information is not available to an employer which could cause them to make a decision based on the applicants race, gender, or lifestyle. In this situation more information may be better for someone who has the appearance of a felon but a squeaky clean record. In the case of someone with a terrible record, more information given to the employer will help them to determine if the person seems to be the right fit for the job.

To Infinity and Beyond

      One word. Nine letters. No not ecphonema (an interjection)but Economics. E-C-O-N-O-M-I-C-S. So far I have kind of decided exactly what I want to do in college. Yes, in almost one week of being in this class I have already decided where I want to go, what I want to major in, what house I’ll have, who I am going to marry, how many kids I’m going to have, etc. Okay maybe not all of those but the second one is definitely a go. I plan on studying economics with a specification in behavioral economics and probably a minor in psychology… and theatre of course! I have come to realize that economics is the study of cause and effect within an economy. For every decision is a consequence, good or bad, the butterfly effect. Supply and demand is key and we (the consumers) control it, partly. Chapter 1 of the book Naked Economics has really opened my eyes to the references to economics all around me. It is easy to understand and relatable to the reader. 
      To further my knowledge into this effective topic of choice, I expect to learn about what economics has to do with life. I want to know in great detail what such an important topic has to do with everything around me and what everything around me has to do with this important topic. And how to apply it? Well I guess we'll just have to wait and find out.