A couple of examples HERE and HERE of using comic book super-hero situations to lean about the A2 Unit 3 Microeconomics topic of Game Theory.
(Valuingeconomics...)
Friday, 30 April 2010
Comic books and Game Theory---Death or Cooperation---you choose!
A couple of examples HERE and HERE of using comic book super-hero situations to lean about the A2 Unit 3 Microeconomics topic of Game Theory.
(Valuingeconomics...)
The mortgage meltdown---it is Economics teachers fault!! I take full responsibility....
The mortgage meltdown---it is Economics teachers fault!! I take responsibility..Well, not entirely my fault, but if I were paranoid, the implication is clear...
Did financial illiteracy contribute to subprime crisis?
...To translate that back into English, borrowers with the most financial literacy were two-thirds less likely to be in foreclosure than borrowers with the least financial literacy. That result remained even after controlling for demographic characteristics such as education and income and the specific mortgages both groups signed. Bottom line: "Twenty percent of the borrowers in the bottom quartile of our financial literacy index have experienced foreclosure, compared to only 5 percent of those in the top quartile. Furthermore, borrowers in the bottom quartile of the index are behind on their mortgage payments 25 percent of the time, while those in the top quartile are behind approximately 10 percent of the time."
What seems to be happening here is not that folks who are financially illiterate choose worse mortgages so much as folks who are financially illiterate make more financial mistakes once they have their mortgages. Either way, it's a reminder of the extraordinary asymmetry of information that stands between borrowers and lenders. You can download the full paper here (pdf).
Chart of Worlds Largest Oil Spills---Not something to be proud of...
Crude mistakes
The world's largest oil spills
ON APRIL 22nd Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig 130 miles (209 km) south-east of New Orleans sank into 1,500m (5,000 feet) of water, following an explosion two days earlier. Eleven of the 126 workers who were onboard remain unaccounted for. Around 1,000 barrels (42,000 US gallons) of crude have been leaking from the submersed rig each day since it sank last week. This spill however, pales in comparison to large disasters, both accidental and man-made. During the first Gulf war, the Iraqi army purposely destroyed tankers and oil terminals in Kuwait, releasing 500m barrels of crude, in order to hold-up the US Navy’s imminent approach in the Arabian Gulf. The environmental impacts caused by such spills varies greatly, with those close to the coast and pristine environments by far the most destructive. Hopefully the current oil slick will harden and sink to the ocean floor before it has a chance to make landfall in Louisiana over the next few days.
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
US Dollar Exchange Rate relative to the Zimbawean Dollar---There is NO bigger number than this...
So tragic for the people of Zimbabwe who did not have to suffer this indignity, but the currency situation is laughable...Make sure you check the exchange rate relative to the US Dollar...
The Economist: FEW Zimbabweans are excited by the 30th anniversary of independence from Britain. The southern African country was born in turmoil: a civil war, international sanctions and an economic slump in the 1970s had followed an earlier declaration of independence by Ian Smith, who led a regime of white settlers. Turmoil has continued under Smith's successors, Canaan Banana until 1987, and now Robert Mugabe. The 1980s and 1990s saw relative success for the economy, as commercial farmers boosted exports of tobacco, maize and other crops and small manufacturers prospered. But as Mr Mugabe came under pressure to quit, his seizure of farms, reckless printing of money and the emigration of the most educated and productive workers led to economic collapse. Hyperinflation and the destruction of the Zimbabwean dollar as a viable currency culminated in 2009 with the dollarisation of the economy.
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Out of Control Doctor--So much humor here--take your choice of double entendres
This is THE MOST out of control doctor I have ever heard of...Poor patient, but there is too much going on here to not notice...
Surgeon cut off testicle 'by mistake' at Bury hospital
A patient lost a testicle during an operation because the surgeon cut it off by mistake, a General Medical Council (GMC) hearing has been told. Dr Sulieman Al Hourani was only supposed to cut out a cyst, but removed the whole right testicle instead. Dr Al Hourani was a locum surgeon at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, Greater Manchester, at the time of the surgery in September 2007. He is accused of misconduct and also of stealing medication. It is alleged the doctor, who is now practising in Jordan and was not present at the hearing, also injected himself with a drug meant for a patient. Sarah Prichard, counsel for the GMC, said the mistake was made as a nurse helping the surgeon turned her back to get a stitch. When she turned around the testicle had been removed. Doctor dismissed Ms Prichard said: "Literally as the nurse turned away to get a transfixion stitch, the incident occurred and the testicle was removed. "Such was the level of concern they immediately realised it could be a serious medical incident and took steps to complete the relevant documentation." A month later it is alleged that the doctor, who qualified after studying at Jordan University of Science and Technology, stole two boxes of dihydrocodeine from a treatment room on a ward at the same hospital. An investigation was launched and the doctor was dismissed by his employer, Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which ran the hospital. The GMC was told of another incident in August 2006, when Dr Al Hourani had consulted a colleague and was advised to inject a patient with 10 milligrams (mg) of midazolam, a powerful sedative drug. He then gave the patient 8mg and injected himself with the other 2mg, the hearing was told. The case against Dr Al Hourani is being heard in his absence as he was notified of the hearing but chose not to "engage" with the GMC or appoint lawyers to represent him. The case, scheduled to last three weeks, was adjourned until Tuesday.
Surgeon cut off testicle 'by mistake' at Bury hospital
A patient lost a testicle during an operation because the surgeon cut it off by mistake, a General Medical Council (GMC) hearing has been told. Dr Sulieman Al Hourani was only supposed to cut out a cyst, but removed the whole right testicle instead. Dr Al Hourani was a locum surgeon at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, Greater Manchester, at the time of the surgery in September 2007. He is accused of misconduct and also of stealing medication. It is alleged the doctor, who is now practising in Jordan and was not present at the hearing, also injected himself with a drug meant for a patient. Sarah Prichard, counsel for the GMC, said the mistake was made as a nurse helping the surgeon turned her back to get a stitch. When she turned around the testicle had been removed. Doctor dismissed Ms Prichard said: "Literally as the nurse turned away to get a transfixion stitch, the incident occurred and the testicle was removed. "Such was the level of concern they immediately realised it could be a serious medical incident and took steps to complete the relevant documentation." A month later it is alleged that the doctor, who qualified after studying at Jordan University of Science and Technology, stole two boxes of dihydrocodeine from a treatment room on a ward at the same hospital. An investigation was launched and the doctor was dismissed by his employer, Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which ran the hospital. The GMC was told of another incident in August 2006, when Dr Al Hourani had consulted a colleague and was advised to inject a patient with 10 milligrams (mg) of midazolam, a powerful sedative drug. He then gave the patient 8mg and injected himself with the other 2mg, the hearing was told. The case against Dr Al Hourani is being heard in his absence as he was notified of the hearing but chose not to "engage" with the GMC or appoint lawyers to represent him. The case, scheduled to last three weeks, was adjourned until Tuesday.
POP goes the bubble---Graphic on the rise of housing in our economy since 1963...Quite dramatic!
The housing industry represents a large portion of our economy. Think of all the goods and services (hence jobs) that are dedicated, directly and indirectly, to building new houses. It is quite a pipeline! Question: Do we have an over-allocation of resources to the home building market? This graph shows the vast increase in housing starts in the mid to late 1990's and accelerating in the 2000's. Why the sudden surge? It is still a subject of controversy (Govt policies towards homeownership, Federal Reserve loose money policy, Wall Street greed, individual "greed", etc) Do we need to implement policies to prevent the "too many eggs in the housing basket"? What do you think????
Visualeconomics
Monday, 19 April 2010
How much water does it take to make a variety of goods?? Nice resource for a project..
If you have a project about water as a resource, this is a REALLY terrific interactive graph showing how much water is used directly and indirectly to produce a variety of basic goods...Click HERE and scroll down about half the page...
Update from tutor2u:
The issue of water scarcity and the scale of our increasing demands on water supplies is in the news today. In this BBC news video Richard Black looks at the amount of water used in making goods imported to the UK. And a hat tip to Mark Seccombe for finding this vivid and superb supporting graphic from Visual Economics
Another great graphic here concerning water stress
Update from tutor2u:
The issue of water scarcity and the scale of our increasing demands on water supplies is in the news today. In this BBC news video Richard Black looks at the amount of water used in making goods imported to the UK. And a hat tip to Mark Seccombe for finding this vivid and superb supporting graphic from Visual Economics
Another great graphic here concerning water stress
Sunday, 18 April 2010
US Trade Bans Graphic---Excellent Resource...
The US imposes unilateral trade bans on other countries, mostly for human rights violations. This graphic shows the major ones and what is banned and a very short reason of the why. I was not aware of some of these myself...Good resource...
Happy Federal Tax Day---I ALMOST put a pen through my head!!
IT IS that time of year again, when the cherry trees are blooming and Americans are stuck indoors wrestling with their taxes. Forget, for a moment, whether marginal rates are too high or too low. The most serious problem facing taxpayers is complexity, says Nina Olson, who is the national taxpayer advocate—the head of a watchdog service created by Congress in 1996 and ignored ever since.
The federal tax code, which was 400 pages long in 1913, has swollen to about 70,000. Americans now spend 7.6 billion hours a year grappling with an incomprehensible tangle of deductions, loopholes and arcane reporting requirements. That is the equivalent of 3.8m skilled workers toiling full-time, year-round, just to handle the paperwork. By this measure, the tax-compliance industry is six times larger than car-making.
Every year, the national taxpayer advocate issues a report begging Congress to simplify the system. In her most recent one, published on December 31st, Ms Olson frets that she is repeating herself. She refers Congress to what she said the previous year. An incredible 82% of taxpayers are so flummoxed that they pay for help. Some 60% hire an accountant or tax preparer, while another 22% use tax software. She might have added that even the head of the Internal Revenue Service, Douglas Shulman, gets someone else to do his taxes.
President Barack Obama says he wants to simplify the tax code. But he has just added a ton of health-care-related provisions to the system. And even if he were zealous about simplification, he would find it hard.
Every wrinkle in the tax code represents a favour to some group. It could be a small group, such as loggers, or a huge one, such as homeowners. Politicians use the tax code to encourage things they like, such as driving hybrid cars, and to discourage things they don’t like, such as work. A typical loophole has passionate defenders but no opponents. Those who benefit from it, benefit a lot. Those who would gain from its repeal (ie, taxpayers in general), have never heard of it. So the mess gets ever messier. Happy April 15th.
Not using your cash? Well most others are not either...
Is Cash King? This is British data, but I am supposing the American dollar would at least mirror the trend to a "cash-less", meaning less cash , used in basic transactions. I know this would reflect my own hapits...How about you???
From ChartPorn: Coins and notes will be used in less than half of all transactions within five years after payments made by cash slumped from 73% to 59% over the past decade, according to new research. The Payments Council says cash is "king no more" after a study of payment trends between 1999 and 2009 found debit card spending was now the most popular - quadrupling to £264bn last year. The council predicted in 1999 that just over one billion cheques would be used by individuals in 2009, but the figure in fact fell to 577m. Cheques are proposed to be phased out completely by October 2018, although the council said even if no action was taken, the volumes would more than halve to just 248m in that time, making up just 0.8% of all personal payments made.
What is inside??? Cost of Component Parts of an I-PAD...
Click HERE forNYTIMES interactive on the omponent parts of an I-PAD ...Interesting breakdown of cost to make an I-PAD...Cited are variable costs of producing an I-PAD and not fixed costs and Opportunity Costs. They note many costs (see yellow bold) incurred in production are not included in their estimates, but are costs of producing none-the-less.
What’s an iPad Cost to Build?
What’s an iPad Cost to Build?
How fast does the average person run compared to NFL prospect--Look here to find out...
VERY cool video showing a"regular person" running the 40 yard dash at the NFL combine overlayed with an NFL prospect running it as well...
I-PAD---Epic fail or a victim of over-hype and too high expectations?
Epic fail or a victim of over-hype and too high expectations?
WSJ: First-Day Sales of Apple's iPad Fall Short of Sky-High Hopes
...But though buyers flocked to Apple stores on Saturday in the first hours after the device went on sale, the long lines petered out at many stores by midafternoon. On Monday, some Apple stores reported robust activity. An Apple store in San Francisco said it sold out of its first shipment of iPads on Monday morning, and a small line formed to buy the second shipment that had just arrived.
WSJ: First-Day Sales of Apple's iPad Fall Short of Sky-High Hopes
...But though buyers flocked to Apple stores on Saturday in the first hours after the device went on sale, the long lines petered out at many stores by midafternoon. On Monday, some Apple stores reported robust activity. An Apple store in San Francisco said it sold out of its first shipment of iPads on Monday morning, and a small line formed to buy the second shipment that had just arrived.
Stop whining about paying taxes--it is not that bad, is it????
5 Myths about your taxes
By Roberton Williams and Rosanne Altshuler
Sunday, April 4, 2010; B03
April is here, which means it's almost time to pony up and render unto Caesar. We've gathered our receipts and other documents, and dragged ourselves to the strip-mall tax preparer or fired up do-it-yourself software to determine how big our refund is -- or how much we owe Uncle Sam. No one likes to pay taxes, but as we get ready to stand in line at the post office on the 15th, it might be useful to dispel some of the most common myths about this springtime ritual.
1. The poorest and the richest Americans pay no taxes.
About 45 percent of households will owe no federal income tax in 2010, according to our estimates. Half of them earn too little, while the other half -- mostly middle- and lower-income households -- will take advantage of tax credits such as the earned income credit, the child and child-care credits, the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credits, which help pay for college, and the saver's credit, which subsidizes retirement saving. But even citizens who pay no income tax still pay other kinds of taxes. They pay Social Security and Medicare taxes when they work, sales taxes when they buy things and property taxes on their homes. Drivers pay gasoline taxes, and smokers and drinkers pay excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol. According to our research, more than 75 percent of us will pay at least some form of federal tax in 2010.
Those who pay no federal taxes are mostly the low-income elderly or very poor families with children. Even about half of those with annual incomes under $10,000 pay some federal tax, most often payroll taxes on wages. And yes, the richest Americans pay taxes, too. Though a tiny minority manage to avoid federal income tax through elaborate tax planning, 99.7 percent of those with annual incomes above $1 million will pay federal taxes this year, surrendering 27 percent of their earnings to the government. The average American taxpayer pays 18 percent.
2. Americans are overtaxed.
In 2007, federal, state and local taxes claimed about $3.8 trillion, or 27 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. That's nearly $13,000 for every American. Two-thirds of tax revenues went to the federal government. It may sound like a lot, but other developed countries collect even more. In 2006, taxes in 30 of the world's richest countries averaged 36 percent of GDP; only Mexico, Turkey, South Korea and Japan had tax rates lower than ours. And taxes in many European countries exceeded 40 percent of GDP because these nations offer more extensive government services than the United States does. Americans do pay far more in individual income taxes than residents of other wealthy nations. Nearly 37 percent of U.S. tax revenue came from personal income taxes in 2006, about 10 percentage points more, on average, than in other industrialized countries. But we pay much less in sales taxes; 17 percent of 2006 U.S. tax receipts were from taxes on goods and services, or about half the 32 percent average for rich countries. Bottom line: We may hate our taxes, but we pay far less than people in other wealthy countries.
3. Higher taxes could eliminate the federal deficit.
Washington spends more than it takes in through tax revenues, resulting in a projected budget deficit of almost $1.35 trillion in 2010, or 9 percent of GDP, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Couldn't we get rid of the deficit by raising taxes? No. A study we conducted at the Tax Policy Center found that Washington would have to raise taxes by almost 40 percent to reduce -- not eliminate, just reduce -- the deficit to 3 percent of our GDP, the 2015 goal the Obama administration set in its 2011 budget. That tax boost would mean the lowest income tax rate would jump from 10 to nearly 14 percent, and the top rate from 35 to 48 percent. What if we raised taxes only on families with couples making more than $250,000 a year and on individuals making more than $200,000? The top two income tax rates would have to more than double, with the top rate hitting almost 77 percent, to get the deficit down to 3 percent of GDP. Such dramatic tax increases are politically untenable and still wouldn't come close to eliminating the deficit.
4. Most people's tax returns are way too complicated.
No one claims that our tax system is simple. After all, the Internal Revenue Code runs more than 3 million words, and the instructions for the widely used 1040 form take up more than 100 pages. Small wonder that three out of five tax filers pay someone to prepare their returns, and another one in five uses software.
But most Americans have relatively simple tax returns. Nearly two-thirds of us claim the standard deduction and don't have to itemize our deductible expenses. And 40 percent of us file one of the simpler tax forms: the 1040A or the 1040EZ. The 2009 EZ has just 13 lines. Relatively few of us get income from any source besides wages and salaries, interest, dividends, and pensions, so it's not hard to tally how much we took in.
So why do taxes seem so complicated? Blame Congress. Legislators use the tax code not just to collect revenue but also to encourage and reward specific activities. The 1986 Tax Reform Act greatly simplified the income tax by getting rid of many special provisions and cutting the number of tax brackets. Since then, Congress has expanded the earned income and child-care credits, created the child, saver's, and education credits, established health savings and Roth retirement accounts, imposed different tax rates on dividends, created a class of long-term capital gains with a lower tax rate and doubled the number of tax brackets.
Last year's stimulus bill added temporary tax cuts that benefit house and car buyers, workers, and families with children, but also make tax returns longer and harder to complete.
5. You should aim for a big tax refund.
It's wonderful to receive a big check in the mail. And having to write a check to the IRS is never fun. But you're better off owing the government a small amount on April 15 than receiving a huge refund. Here's why: Even though it seems like you pay your income taxes once a year, you actually pay them all year long as your employer withholds taxes from your paycheck. When you file your tax return, you are refunded the difference between the tax you owe and the cash your employer withheld. Three-quarters of Americans allow their employers to withhold too much; income tax refunds averaged nearly $2,300 in 2008. In effect, we're giving the government an interest-free loan. You'd be better off stashing these withheld wages in an interest-bearing bank account and writing a check to the IRS on April 15. It's not hard to cut the amount of money withheld from your paycheck. Just give your employer a W-4 form asking to withhold less each payday. Your human resources office should have the form, and it's easy to fill out. But there is a catch: If you owe too much (and there are specific rules defining what "too much" is), you may have to pay a penalty -- usually interest on the unpaid tax. And if you're not careful, you may end up owing more in taxes than you saved.
Roberton Williams is a senior fellow of the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. Rosanne Altshuler is the center's director.
By Roberton Williams and Rosanne Altshuler
Sunday, April 4, 2010; B03
April is here, which means it's almost time to pony up and render unto Caesar. We've gathered our receipts and other documents, and dragged ourselves to the strip-mall tax preparer or fired up do-it-yourself software to determine how big our refund is -- or how much we owe Uncle Sam. No one likes to pay taxes, but as we get ready to stand in line at the post office on the 15th, it might be useful to dispel some of the most common myths about this springtime ritual.
1. The poorest and the richest Americans pay no taxes.
About 45 percent of households will owe no federal income tax in 2010, according to our estimates. Half of them earn too little, while the other half -- mostly middle- and lower-income households -- will take advantage of tax credits such as the earned income credit, the child and child-care credits, the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credits, which help pay for college, and the saver's credit, which subsidizes retirement saving. But even citizens who pay no income tax still pay other kinds of taxes. They pay Social Security and Medicare taxes when they work, sales taxes when they buy things and property taxes on their homes. Drivers pay gasoline taxes, and smokers and drinkers pay excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol. According to our research, more than 75 percent of us will pay at least some form of federal tax in 2010.
Those who pay no federal taxes are mostly the low-income elderly or very poor families with children. Even about half of those with annual incomes under $10,000 pay some federal tax, most often payroll taxes on wages. And yes, the richest Americans pay taxes, too. Though a tiny minority manage to avoid federal income tax through elaborate tax planning, 99.7 percent of those with annual incomes above $1 million will pay federal taxes this year, surrendering 27 percent of their earnings to the government. The average American taxpayer pays 18 percent.
2. Americans are overtaxed.
In 2007, federal, state and local taxes claimed about $3.8 trillion, or 27 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. That's nearly $13,000 for every American. Two-thirds of tax revenues went to the federal government. It may sound like a lot, but other developed countries collect even more. In 2006, taxes in 30 of the world's richest countries averaged 36 percent of GDP; only Mexico, Turkey, South Korea and Japan had tax rates lower than ours. And taxes in many European countries exceeded 40 percent of GDP because these nations offer more extensive government services than the United States does. Americans do pay far more in individual income taxes than residents of other wealthy nations. Nearly 37 percent of U.S. tax revenue came from personal income taxes in 2006, about 10 percentage points more, on average, than in other industrialized countries. But we pay much less in sales taxes; 17 percent of 2006 U.S. tax receipts were from taxes on goods and services, or about half the 32 percent average for rich countries. Bottom line: We may hate our taxes, but we pay far less than people in other wealthy countries.
3. Higher taxes could eliminate the federal deficit.
Washington spends more than it takes in through tax revenues, resulting in a projected budget deficit of almost $1.35 trillion in 2010, or 9 percent of GDP, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Couldn't we get rid of the deficit by raising taxes? No. A study we conducted at the Tax Policy Center found that Washington would have to raise taxes by almost 40 percent to reduce -- not eliminate, just reduce -- the deficit to 3 percent of our GDP, the 2015 goal the Obama administration set in its 2011 budget. That tax boost would mean the lowest income tax rate would jump from 10 to nearly 14 percent, and the top rate from 35 to 48 percent. What if we raised taxes only on families with couples making more than $250,000 a year and on individuals making more than $200,000? The top two income tax rates would have to more than double, with the top rate hitting almost 77 percent, to get the deficit down to 3 percent of GDP. Such dramatic tax increases are politically untenable and still wouldn't come close to eliminating the deficit.
4. Most people's tax returns are way too complicated.
No one claims that our tax system is simple. After all, the Internal Revenue Code runs more than 3 million words, and the instructions for the widely used 1040 form take up more than 100 pages. Small wonder that three out of five tax filers pay someone to prepare their returns, and another one in five uses software.
But most Americans have relatively simple tax returns. Nearly two-thirds of us claim the standard deduction and don't have to itemize our deductible expenses. And 40 percent of us file one of the simpler tax forms: the 1040A or the 1040EZ. The 2009 EZ has just 13 lines. Relatively few of us get income from any source besides wages and salaries, interest, dividends, and pensions, so it's not hard to tally how much we took in.
So why do taxes seem so complicated? Blame Congress. Legislators use the tax code not just to collect revenue but also to encourage and reward specific activities. The 1986 Tax Reform Act greatly simplified the income tax by getting rid of many special provisions and cutting the number of tax brackets. Since then, Congress has expanded the earned income and child-care credits, created the child, saver's, and education credits, established health savings and Roth retirement accounts, imposed different tax rates on dividends, created a class of long-term capital gains with a lower tax rate and doubled the number of tax brackets.
Last year's stimulus bill added temporary tax cuts that benefit house and car buyers, workers, and families with children, but also make tax returns longer and harder to complete.
5. You should aim for a big tax refund.
It's wonderful to receive a big check in the mail. And having to write a check to the IRS is never fun. But you're better off owing the government a small amount on April 15 than receiving a huge refund. Here's why: Even though it seems like you pay your income taxes once a year, you actually pay them all year long as your employer withholds taxes from your paycheck. When you file your tax return, you are refunded the difference between the tax you owe and the cash your employer withheld. Three-quarters of Americans allow their employers to withhold too much; income tax refunds averaged nearly $2,300 in 2008. In effect, we're giving the government an interest-free loan. You'd be better off stashing these withheld wages in an interest-bearing bank account and writing a check to the IRS on April 15. It's not hard to cut the amount of money withheld from your paycheck. Just give your employer a W-4 form asking to withhold less each payday. Your human resources office should have the form, and it's easy to fill out. But there is a catch: If you owe too much (and there are specific rules defining what "too much" is), you may have to pay a penalty -- usually interest on the unpaid tax. And if you're not careful, you may end up owing more in taxes than you saved.
Roberton Williams is a senior fellow of the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. Rosanne Altshuler is the center's director.
Nice graphic on the Wealth and the population shift from rural to urban areas in China...The numbers are staggering!!
Nice graphic on the Wealth and the population shift from rural to urban areas...The numbers are staggering!!
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