"Sick Around the World" was a great video which talked about the different health care systems in Britain, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and Switzerland. All of these health care systems we learned about have very different health care systems. Take the UK for example; the UK's Health Care services are completely funded by taxes which is very different than the services in the US. I thought the health care services in Japan are very interested. In Japan, people go to the doctor, use more drugs, and spend more days in hospitals compared to civilians in the United States but Japan spends about half as much money on health care per capita than the United States. Everyone in Japan buys health insurance either through a community plan or through an employer and unlike health care systems in the US, they cannot turn anyone away if they have previous health issues.

Too The Max

I already saw the movie Maxed Out, so the second time around i was able to pay more attention to the facts that the movies represented and less of the stories.  I was amazed by some of the debt that people acquire when they are in college.  it also sickened me when i heard how credit card companies and colleges basically work hand in hand to trap people into debt at a very young age. Its incredible how subliminal the credit card companies are when they target a young demographic, they have tactics to seem more appealing.  It would be interesting to see a database of all the people who fell for the debt trap, and what majors they took.  I feel as if someone who was majoring in economics wouldn't be as vulnerable to these tactics considering they would know the outcome.  Also it just goes to show the value of scholarships.  Debt after college seems almost impossible to get rid of on top of the credit cards debt that they already have existing.  Now if youre a college athlete with a full ride you graduate college with little to know debt.  That is a gift, the ability to be debt free. WOW

Thanks Alanna!

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Maxed Out

This isn't the first time I've seen this documentary... nor do I think it will be my last. There really is so much to say about how ridiculous the laws are that allow credit card companies to become predators not only to college age students, but adults as well. It's incredibly sad that people take their own lives over something like debt, it should never happen. I think this movie should be a part of everyone's curriculum, because there is no way to stress enough the importance of having this information. To know that this could just as easily happen to you, it's an important lesson.

Maxed Out with little thought

After watching the film Maxed Out, I tried to think of who was most to blame for the massive debt in our nation. Was it the banks preying on unknowing college students, the people who wished to live more lavish lifestyles than they could afford, those forced into bankruptcy only to re-enter the cycle? Many of the messages conveyed in the movie stuck out to me and it struck me how twisted it is for our country to make money off of others debts: "debt buying is one of the fastest growing industries on Wall Street. Banks purposefully hire employees who have worked in the retail business so that they can lure potential clients in with glamorous offers and money upfront (without looking into the small print).
However our society does need to be smarter than falling for every credit card pushed in front of us. Many gather debt by losing track of their purchases or spending to lavishly. I recently read an article from the Wall Street Journal having to do with the average price of prom these days and I could not believe proms can cost anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars. Here is an article from the Denver Post about the average cost of a prom. This is one great example of how young teens and parents recklessly spend for one night. Before spending so much on a dress or new pair of shoes, we need to think about the repercussions of spending.

I am really glad we got to watch this movie in Econ because although I already knew the the troubles that are associated with credit cards and college students it was very beneficial to hear real life stories from the students in the video. Our whole economics class is going off to school next year so I think it was very important for us to see how easy it is to fall into debt when credit card companies are targeting young students. Colleges often benefit when college students purchase credit cards so the schools do not often teach the students about the risk of falling into debt. High Schools are not paid to promote credit cards which is why it is easier to teach the horrors of debt to high school students rather than college students.
Even though I was really glad to hear the risks before going off to college, the video did not really address any stories of people who do not end up in debt. There are a ton of college students who do end up in debt but there are just as many students who do not.

Maxed Out

I thought this documentary applied greatly to our class. Many of the sob-stories were about college students who were bamboozled into buying credit cards without realizing how credit cards actually function. Thankfully, I know the risks involved with owning credit cards, and while many people run into trouble, as exhibited by the film, I think that there are many benefits to credit cards that the documentary does not bring up. For example, as Chapter 25 in Economics by Example explains, credit cards allow consumers to buy things with money that they may not have at that specific moment. These purchases fuel the economy and allow people to buy more because it is rare, when people buy a car, that they have all of the money needed to buy the car at that specific moment in time. However, it is possible that buy the end of the month, when they need to pay their credit card bills, they will have the money.

Maxed Out

As a person leaving home for college in the coming months, a lot of the elements in Maxed Out can be really terrifying for people. The thought of falling behind on bills thanks to financial decisions, the brutal consequences of these actions, and (arguably the most scary for my age group) the constant pressure from credit card companies that new college students face. Given the stories provided by the movie, while it may be unfathomable for me to imagine my spending getting out of control, it still sticks in the back of my mind that the victims of these credit card companies probably thought the same thing, and then wound up $12,000 in debt by their Sophomore years. I worry for all the kids I go to school with now, all the kids I will go to school with in the future, and even myself because of this. Maxed Out showed me in detailed fashion how bad the debt problem in America is, and I fear it may only get worse as time goes on. And now that I am on the verge of going to college, I have to say I'm sort of afraid of becoming part of the problem, not because I am afraid of winding up in bankruptcy-bound debt before I graduate college, but just because I want to be a smart spender and I worry that I can't be given the state of the US Economy and pressure from companies. So many people are already in debt, I just hope I won't be part of the problem. If nothing else, Maxed Out scared me straight.

Maxed out and we're next

While watching the movie and with the discussion we had in class concerning chapter 25 of "Economics By Examples" I couldn't help but to think to myself that we're next. We will soon be going off to college and it seems that the excitement to finally get away over shadows the cost of what getting away cost. Like the first man in the movie of Maxed out was slowly consumed by the debt of his ex wife's medical bills and her credit card payments, we will soon be liable of our college tuition. Like many people applying for college I have been working my butt off to apply for scholarships. I 'm refusing to take out any student loans in fear of landing myself in debt. Sure I don't  have to pay them until I graduate, but there isn't any guarantee that I will find a job straight out of college. So i am stunned at the amount of people that are in  debt and we will soon be joining them. Young and in debt.

Maxed Out

I don't really know what to think about this movie. On the one hand I have to appreciate it's goal, and the intention behind the making of the movie: to prevent people amassing huge amounts of debt due to a plastic card in their wallet. However, I also have to question it's effectiveness. It seems to be aimed mostly at a younger crowd, but ineffectively. Its heavy-handed editing and style make it feel like an outdated drivers-ed video, and who's going to say that it's the videos that made them a good driver? I feel more people would place more emphasis on the teacher and the behind the wheel lessons than the clunky, cheesy video lessons. I feel bad saying these things, though, because buried within the sub-par 'movie' is important, extremely helpful information. However the fact that one good source for information exists about this topic doesn't mean more sources shouldn't be created and implemented. It's such an important topic, debt and credit cards, and it should always be important that the viewer connect with the information so that he or she remembers it and utilizes it. Having said this I now worry that a movie will soon come out about credit cards utilizing facebook, twitter, excessive explosions, or all of the above. This shouldn't happen. Don't let James Cameron direct.

Maxed Out

This was my first time watching "Maxed Out", but this is not a new topic to me. Just like my brother, I received my first credit card when I began driving. It made things a lot easier, not having to be weighed down by a lot of dollar bills, but I also knew that it was more than simply a magic card. When I first began to use, I would just use it as a way to purchase gas. But once I got used to it, I would use it more often, but not in excess. The first credit card you receive is one of the most important because its the first time you are taking responsibility over your own money (to a certain extent) rather than asking your parents for cash. I could buy anything with a swipe of a card, but all those bills would add up at the end of the month.

The second thing that stood out to me was when the man who was broadcasting on the radio, who was talking to the woman on the phone. When she said that she was thinking about declaring bankruptcy. But when he asked why, she didn't give a concrete reason behind the declaration. She simply said that she didn't know what else to do. I feel like this is a common occurrence among those who declare. People do it simply because they are so far in debt and don't know how to end it. The must realize that there are other options besides bankruptcy. He was right in telling her to stop school if she cannot afford it and get a job. With a job at least she'll begin to pay off all the debt she has accumulated.

Maxed Out

This is my second time watching maxed out.  At the beginning of the Economics course I was on Netflix and they suggested that I would like the movie.  I then proceeded to watch the movie.  I found the movie fascinating because for as long as I can remember my parents have told my sister and I never have more then one or two credit cards.  We would be in the GAP and they would offer my mom the opportunity to sign up for a GAP card and save x amount of money on that days purchase.  My mom always politely responded no thank you.  I never understood why she never wanted to save money.  When we would leave the store my mom would always tell my sister and I never to open credit cards.  It's dangerous to have more then two or three credit cards because it is more likely for you to spend money that you don't have.  You are charged for each credit card and it isn't necessary to have a credit care for each store.  The movie Maxed Out emphasizes the fact that credit cards are dangerous and that all credit card companies want to do is make money off of you not help make your life easier.  As a senior in high school, planning to go to college next year, I am prepared to be approached by various banks and stores asking if I want to sign up for a credit card, and I will do just as my mother has always done, politely decline.   While I have been very lucky to have had my parents stress the importance of staying away from credit cards, there are millions of people out there who lack a sense of knowledge regarding credit cards and the danger of paying on credit.  I love the movie Maxed Out because it shows the dangers of buying on credit and taking on more debt.  Maxed Out successfully spreads the message by personal stories and facts regarding the dangers of open credit cards, especially when you cannot afford to have one.  If you have a credit card and you cannot keep up with the costs, you are more likely to continue spending money on things you cannot afford.  Credit card companies love when people go over their limit and spend more then they actually have because they make money off of their mistakes.  I think everyone should have to watch Maxed Out, especially people going to college or leaving home for the first time.

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.
While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.
These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.
Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.
If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine — most likely by a lot.
To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.
Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion — a staggering $227.4 million on average — but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.
The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)
I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.
Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.
Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.
But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.
My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.

Warren E. Buffett is the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway.

Wal-Mart

It is excruciatingly difficult, in my opinion, for the North Shore community to grasp just how gruesome Wal-Mart has been to many communities in the United States, given that there isn't a Wal-Mart to be found in any immediate area nearby. The feeling must be much different for people that must resort to shopping there given that it is the cheapest (and sometimes only) option available for acquiring everyday necessities. Despite this, I still find it unbelievable that even communities that claim to have "banned" Wal-Mart still have trouble dealing with it. Even though Chicago was listed in the film as one of the cities to boycott Wal-Mart, I still know of a small Wal-Mart that operates just outside of the Metra Station in downtown Chicago. Though it doesn't function as one of the normal and much larger stores usually operates, the influence is still clear. Scenarios and stories such as those presented in the film only further confirm the idea that Wal-Mart has gotten out of control despite all of the seemingly successful boycotts. I am uncertain as to whether or not Wal-Mart can be controlled or limited at this point given its massive vicegrip on the United States, but at this point I can only hope consumers elect to shop elsewhere. The issue is I don't believe consumers will elect to do this, and that frightens me, despite the fact that I live in a community relatively untouched by Wal-Mart's poisonous grasp.

"Sick Around The World"

Perhaps my favorite part of the special Sick Around the World was how each segment of the film tended to focus on the positives and negatives of many more successful healthcare systems around the world than in the United States. Then, near the conclusion of the film (in both a sort of review and collage of previous ideas) the directors presented the Swiss healthcare system that appears to draw from a variety of the systems detailed in the film in an effort to create the most successful model possible. What I enjoyed about this approach was that it helped make a healthcare system completely foreign to Americans seem much more understandable and inviting, given the success that the smaller elements have provided to the other countries and Switzerland as a whole. It makes the idea of fixing the healthcare situation in the United States much less scary and (apparently) much more simple. It may not be a completely new revolutionary cure-all that most Americans are hopeful for, but its a system that is proven to yield great results in a variety of areas, something the United States desperately needs in its health care sector right now.

Supersize Me

Supersize Me essentially confirms the points made about the negative externalities associated with fast food that Barbara Ehrenreich made in her book Nickel and Dimed, but on a much more visible and (literally) larger scale. As Morgan Spurlock's experiment demonstrated, consistently eating the food offered at chain restaurants such as McDonald's causes very serious long-term health problems such as obesity, high cholesterol, high blood-pressure, and diabetes. But even though these health problems surrounding fast food are well known by many people (despite, as the film shows, McDonald's' seemingly consistent lack of nutritional information), it usually remains the only option for Americans that are struggling from a financial standpoint, given that it is the cheapest option available and therefore one of if not the most popular. It presents an awkward and unfortunate situation for the lower working class of the United States struggling in hard times. If only Supersize Me provided answers to this problem instead of just statistics and very visual evidence. Regardless, it is an enjoyable and very educational film.

The Persuaders

If nothing else,The Persuaders reveals many of the secrets and details that advertisers execute in an attempt to make their products appealing to audiences everywhere, something I was very eager to discover and learn about. I understood that advertising has never been a simple part of a business' approach, but I never really considered all of the effort that has to be made to try and appeal to different target audiences in a variety of ways. An example is appealing to children with cereal advertisements that are bright, loud, and colorful and create a lot of excitement. Then, when children are shopping with parents, they have a memory of the cereals seen on television, and the boxes often have the same qualities that their advertisements did and are low on the shelves to be within sight and reach of children, thus creating even more excitement. The Persuaders, for me at least, confirmed the idea that advertising is an extremely complex and deep affair within companies.

Healthcare

I think it is safe to say the U.S.'s healthcare isn't all that great at all. I believe similar to what I believe is what the former president of Switzerland said that Healthcare is a human right. In America we believe that anything that provides a service to everyone is instantly socialist or something of similar matter. There are several issues at hand though. If the government regulates healthcare, something has to pay and rising taxes isn't going to be it. Yes I believe we need it but taxing isn't the answer. The other issue is medical school. It is EXTREMELY expensive. Doctors in the US make a lot more than elsewhere because they need to charge more to cover the debt they accumulated through med school. Solving the cost of medical education is the first step to having healthcare for all. If Obamacare is to pass, doctors are going to make alot less money with med school just as expensive. That loss in revenue is going to turn away a large amount of aspiring doctors since they will work into their forties just to get out of debt and one thing the world doesn't need is less doctors.

Wal-Mart

I think this is a fairly well made documentary. Coming into the subject cold (barely knowing anything about the controversy) it does a very good job of persuading viewers towards disliking the company. Fortunately for us, there are not any Wal-Marts close by so disliking the superstore titan isn't all that hard to do. Although the movie makes several valid points, I do not believe that all of them were entirely fair. Yes I think that Wal-Mart has not been upfront in giving employees the benefits they deserve and yes they cut corners to do all they can to reduce costs but they do help communities in the sense that they do provide cheap goods for less well off Americans. The thing I did not about the movie is that it gave no juxtaposition to their argument. They completely disregard any sort of counter to their argument.

Wal-Mart

Along with everyone else, I am not a fan of Wal-Mart. However, I think there are many questions that we can ask ourselves that will yield answers that might make us see the advantages that Wal-Mart has to offer. For example, I think it would be interesting to know how many of Wal-Mart employees were unemployed before the Wal-Mart came into their town? Wal-Mart does employ a ridiculous amount of people, and if they were to shut down, than the unemployment rates would be even more. Also, Wal-Mart does provide a cheap outlet for those who have tight incomes. Yes, the mom and pop businesses are being shut down by the big corporal tyrant, but these businesses on a national level do not employ many people and in most cases, Wal-Mart sells the same things as that mom and pop business, but for cheaper. Not to mention, I think the reality is that if we took any big-box retailer, such as Target or KMart, and did an intensive research investigation as was done with Wal-Mart, I think we would find similar horrors. Thankfully, there is not a Wal-Mart anywhere near where I live, so I do not have to make the decision about whether or not to shop there. However, if it was the only thing in the vicinity of where I lived, I can't say I wouldn't shop there.

WALMART

I think that WalMart is an incredibly unjust company. Its interesting how they are being targeted though, i feel like there are other company power houses that have probably done worse for economical territory in various demographics yet, WalMart is the only one being made an example of it. I also find in peculiar that the CEO of Walmart has no remorse for the kind of institutions hes imposing onto peoples lives. I think the idea of cheap labor is sickening, its a cruel way of taking advantage of a human but at the same time making them believe that what their doing is humane. I think that if more people were to know about the other companies who do this like NIKE and APPLE, they wouldn't stop purchasing their items. I think its easier to attack a business like WalMart.

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart's motto is: "Save money, Live better, Wal-Mart," but how many people are actually living better lives because of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has low prices and does make people's lives easier when they are looking for affordable prices but there are more costs than there are benefits. Wal-Mart franchisees have shut out all small family owned businesses from the communities they inhabit and the small shops previously running the town get run down once Wal-Mart starts seeing all the old business. On top of ruining families, Wal-Mart treats its employees horribly. In the book Nickel and Dimed, we read how Ehrenreich and other employees were treated by their managers. Many Wal-Mart managers have been found to be racist and this just adds to a list of reasons why I disapprove of Wal-Mart. Employees not only work an absurd amount of hours a day but they also get paid very poorly. The workers in the stores are not the only ones being paid unfairly either. Wal-Mart gets the majority of its products from China and the life styles and work conditions for the workers in China are drastic. Those who put Wal-Mart's products together pay high rents, and get paid very little. It costs a Chinese worker $.39 to put a good together but that same product is then sold for $14.99 in the states. Where is that money going? Why can't those Chinese workers get paid more. Wal-Mart employees have very few rights and I think consumers should know the truth behind Wal-Mart.

The Wal-Machine

The United States has made itself the shining example of democracy to the rest of the world, and has shown off its capitalism as something to be achieved by other countries. Wal-Mart is within the grey area of this known capitalism. As a capitalism nation, we believe that people should be allowed to gain a profit with minimal interference from the government. However, I believe that Wal-Mart has taken our system of capitalism, found loopholes that worked in their advantage, and corrupted the system. Wal-Mart has taken many small businesses, businesses that America prides itself on, and forced them to go out of business, especially with small towns. 

The Wal-Mart industry is a multimillion-dollar company, and has found different ways to cut corners with this. Its employees are forced to work horrible hours (many if not all are beyond regulation), they are denied the liberty to have unions, and are given minimum wage for their services. Also, the problem with big companies like Wal-Mart is that even if they fire you, they have another application in the office waiting to take your spot. Normally, I would say that the system will work itself out, but with big companies like Wal-Mart abusing the system, we need change. I'm not advocating for absolute equality, which often leads to communism societies that give everyone the same pay, but I am advocating that we create a way to monitor the bigger companies such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc. to make sure that they are abiding the rules. But the government should not get involved beyond that point. What makes this country great is that we have the ability to build ourselves up and create a business from nothing and pass it on. My father's small business has been around well over a century, and was passed down from my grandfather. We should stop companies like Wal-Mart from stopping others from achieving their American Dream. 

The Wal-Mart Monster

I had my suspicions and doubts about Wal-Mart, but after watching "The High Cost of Low Prices" and remembering Ehrenreich's experience working at Wal-Mart I am appalled and loath everything that is Wal-Mart. Many argue that they bring many jobs to small towns and provide consumers with less expensive goods, but the negative externalities far outweigh the positives. I never knew the conditions of the workers in China making the products, or the poor healthcare provided for the Wal-Mart employees, or the stalker-like video cameras to patrol "union suspicion" until the movie we watched in class. How can a company so large, with so much corruption, hide it so well from the majority of the public? Or are we just too naive? I began looking up Wal-Mart facts to further my investigation into the company. I learned that 1) this year, everyone in the world will make an average of 1.1 purchases at a Wal-Mart 2) each week nearly one-third of the U.S. population visits Wal-Mart's U.S. stores 3) Wal-Mart parking lots alone take up roughly the size of Tampa, Florida 4) In 2000, Wal-Mart was sued 4,851 times (about once every 2 hours) and most shockingly 5) The Walton family has given away about 2% of its net worth to charity, Bill Gates is giving away 48% of his net worth and Warren Buffet 78% of his net worth. No wonder the company of Wal-Mart is so corrupt when its owners are selfish and greedy. Wal-Mart brags about donating to charities, providing benefits to their employees, and boosting the number of jobs .But at what price? I could go on and on but I will end with this...I will never shop at or enter another Wal-Mart again.

Richest country in the world

It is not until I came to US that I had a grasp of what Marx was talking about. In China they sure preaches about socialistic ideals and drawback of capitalism, but the reality is China is a huge bureaucratic capitalistic country, capitalism in its crude and early form. Its hard to believe in such an ideal when the so called communist government is terribly corrupted and the society they build is very capitalistic. And the fact is we look at the richest and most powerful country in the world, it is U.S., the empire and guardian of capitalism camp.

But when I actually got here, so many imaginations are shattered. It is the richest country in the world, supposedly represents liberality and justice but when I watch the news, listen to lobbies makes their TV speeches, and read through the war logs, and talked to the friendly yet hopeless beggars in the streets of Chicago all I could think of is the anti-capitalism propaganda, the portraits of those fat business man sitting on the people of the world. With this much wealth, all of these suffering, can be eliminated. But capitalism clearly doesn't encourage that.

And the more I study U.S., the more cynical I become, and I got hands on Marx's work for the first time not because I need to take a test on it but because I want answers. What caught my attention was the European countries. They are actually look very close to the utopia so-called communists tried to built. And the more I found out about the history of communists and soviets the more I heard the voice of Marx saying: "Capitalism will be burred in the grave it diggers for itself." Since very young we are taught its a natural process, the jump from capitalism to socialism and finally to capitalism. When I look at those socialistic European countries I realize those are the oldest capitalistic countries in the world. Its their advance in productivity and wealth that grants people power to push society to the next level. Productivity decides society, with a mere socialistic revolution, but poor productivity, the country will slip back to capitalism as we see in China. Vice versa, U.S.A has more social benefits and projects compared to the "communist" China. It is a natural force, and I finally understand why Marx said he was not a Marxist when the term is used for the revolutionaries, because he believes in such natural transformation as the revolution. And such a true socialist revolution has not taken place in China yet, but it's going on in U.S. for it has a long history of capitalism.

What interested me the most is Chinese TV programs are not shy talking about U.S. comparing China and U.S., because yes U.S. is inhumane in a lot of the ways and the government might want people to feel that the strongest capitalistic country is inhumane so we should take the other path, but these TV shows have very seldom talk about Europe and its systems. That is understandable also because those are the true socialist. They are awe-inspiring when I first read stories about them after all these years stuck in China only imaging a democratic and socialistic utopia. This European inspiration sure will cause problems in China.

U.S. can be much much more. Its current status the existing system doesn't match it's title as being the richest country in the world. But I do believe such wealth and high productivity will lead to change. People will want more than just free business, free this and free that because that is just an jungle. We can be more humane than that. And U.S. will be, and hopefully China will be too.

Wal-Mart... It's everywhere and taking over

Wal-Mart is everywhere. Approximately five minutes from where I live you will find a Wal-Mart.  I can easily travel another twenty minutes and find another Wal-Mart by Gurnee Mills with its companion Sam’s Club right next to it. I always see the parking lots full of customers and actually know some of the employees that happen to work there. The thing is that I really don’t find myself shopping there. The times I do find myself going in are because they are the only stores that really stay open late.  Being Hispanic I find myself going to the little Mexican shops that reside all over Waukegan that have what it is that I’m looking for. I know that Wal-Mart has almost every product imaginable but does it? Is a company like Wal-Mart geared to only to a certain race or people? To many of the Hispanics that I asked if they go to Wal-Mart many say “No.” It’s expensive and not the kind of food that I’m interested in. So although it may be everywhere what kind of people and shops is Wal-Mart really affecting or wants to go after?

Wal-What?

We are a country that prides itself on the free market. What do we do when a company not only monopolizes that market, but takes hundreds of millions in government money, and put their employees on government funded programs because they don't even make enough to live? Easy answer: shut them down. It's not good for the economy, people from small businesses are losing jobs, and it's been shown that Wal-Mart doesn't even hire enough employees to cover the store due to cost. The employees often put in overtime (not even getting paid for it). Wal-Mart has a lack of respect for it's employees, the working conditions should be illegal. Speaking of lack of respect, the amount of attacks that have happened in Wal-Mart parking lots with lack of action is sickening. This is not a company for the people by any means.

Healthcare in the U. S. of A.

The cost of healthcare in the United States compared to the other countries is outrageous. The amount of people that go bankrupt from health related expenses, or that don't have health insurance at all is unbelievable in the U.S. When Switzerland was asked if people go bankrupt from healthcare expenses they said it was unheard of, and if it did happen it would be considered an outrage. Now there were quite a few instances in other countries where healthcare is actually so cheap that the expenses almost aren't getting paid, and the doctors don't get paid very much (under appreciated). The best thing the U.S. can do is make healthcare more affordable, get everyone health insurance, it is a basic human right to be able to afford to go to the doctor if you need to. The idea that anyone just suffers when sick is ridiculous.

Sick In America

I learned a lot from watching this documentary and i felt as if there was a lot that could be gained by learning about other nations Health Care. I thought it was interesting how Taiwan created a melting pot of all the other Health Care programs in other countries. It was a creative way of developing a dominate, ideal, and universally successful health program. It was cool learning more about the U.K. health care considering that my cousin is a citizen over there and he has told me about it before and how it is a very good idea. The only downside i see is the amount of money added to taxes that are used to push forward what seems like a free health care system.

A Little Of Everything

What was most interesting to me was how this film traced multiple different health care systems, detailing their strengths and their fallacies, before detailing the one that is clearly seen by the makers of the film as the superior system: that found in Switzerland. The thing that interested me about Switzerland's system was the fact that Switzerland's system is basically an amalgamation of the best parts from all the health care systems. They picked the best facets from multiple different cities. This interested me, but it definitely did not take me by surprise. The fact is that in this day and age, it seems like everything has been made. Everything seems to merely be an updating, a development, a new way of presenting what we already have. I did not expect the 'best' health care system to be a completely new idea, but was still interested to see that it mirrored much of todays societal progress in that it took the best of everything and came up with something 'new.'

Externalities in Supersize Me

The negative externality of the documentary "Supersize Me" is the negative externality associated with the fast food industry and a person's well-being. Although the food at restaurants such as McDonalds is relatively cheap, making it affordable for many who have low salaries, it doesn't cover nearly as much nutritional value as it should, causing trouble for one's health. Another negative externality of fast food is the costs associated with the poor health. When someone eats too much food from places like McDonalds, they end up with health problems like diabetes and high cholesterol. Many of the people who eat a lot of fast food cannot afford good food as well as health insurance. So, when someone needs medical assistance due an unhealthy diet, tax payers are having to pay for something they had no connection with. 

Taiwans health care system

Before the movie I never paid much attention to the health care system. After watching it I feel that the United States has to rethink their plans. I was really interested when the movie started talking about the way Taiwan's health care system works. They consulted people that knew about other countries health systems and examined them to avoid the same mistakes that other countries made with theirs. It makes sense to me. Why would you want to recreate the problems of another country so they can become yours? Taiwan has managed to create equal access for its people, eliminate waiting, and be able to have your choice of doctor. While they may be having to increase their GDP from 6.23% to 8% its sure a hell lot less than what the U.S is paying. So it may seem that the choice is between the people going into depth or the hospital, but I find that maybe it's not all one sided as it may seem.

Freakenomics

In the movie Freakenomics, the most interesting segment in my opinion was the name section. They did many different polls and questioned many people, to see what they thought of the impact a name can have. While it proved to be true that the names did have a racial effect in the application for jobs world, overall the names did not predict how a person will end up living their life. Another reason I liked this section is because I can relate to it. My name was going to be Zeek, but when my mom looked up what that name would make me become, she changed it to Zachary. Zeek means an uneducated, toothless, hillbilly, so for obvious reasons, I was not allowed to be named Zeek.

Externality in Supersize Me

The main externality in the movie, Supersize Me, is the negative effect that the fast food industry has on a persons health. While McDonalds is selling food for a relatively cheap price, the negative effects the food will have on your body is terrible and will end up costing you more money in the long run. The definition of externality is the effect something will have on the surroundings. McDonalds is a very good example of a negative externality, it negatively effects the people's health.

Externalities in Super Size Me

An obvious externality in the movie Super Size Me are the health risk involved with fast food and over processed food. But we another externality involved with fast-food chain restaurants are the low wage jobs that they provide. While reading Nickel and Dimed, the importance of low wage jobs is just as important as the role of higher paid jobs. There has to be a balance in our society in the case of jobs, and companies such as McDonald's and Wal-Mart are some of the largest employers. People protesting the role of these businesses in our society should also consider the many jobs these businesses provide. Maybe fast food restaurants should offer healthier options but consumers do not have to eat the unhealthy options, it is all a personal choice.

Down Size My activity

I enjoyed watching super size me because it was a very eye opening experience. I was surprised how much i learned about our society and how are obesity is becoming a problem. One things that i found very interesting was the fact that George W. Bush was also a major factor in child obesity. When George W. Bush decided to put forth the no child left behind program he took away needed time from physical education. This in return took away children begin able to be active during the school year. Although it helped children in the educational system receive more attention to education, it also left them without any kind of activity to keep them healthy. This shows how little attention people were paying to our weight problem in America.

Super size me!

To start off, I recently saw a stat that stated that Mcdonald's burgers are 15% real beef while the other 85% was meat filler that led to forms of cancer. Normally, I would've have looked at that info given out by a Google Health tweet and just been surprised and went on with my day, but since we were focusing on McDonalds and Supersize Me at the time I saw that tweet I didn't simply brush it aside. This was the perfect example of McDonald's negative externalities that we have been talking about so much in class. The meat filler is cleaned with a form of ammonia leading to various forms of cancer. I thought it was an interesting movie and it definitely raises concern about eating McDonalds but I also think he over exaggerated a bit which threw me off.

If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

Check out the trailer to the film If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front.  It's been nominated for an Academy Award.  How can you use the concept of negative externalities to explain the group's extreme behavior?

Supersize Me

We watched Supersize Me to see first hand the role that externalities play in our everyday lives. The moral of the externality story is that by eating really high processed, low quality food on a consistent basis you are putting yourself in danger of serious health risks. So although the food may be cheap at the time, the price you will pay in medical bills just does not balance out to make it worth it. You should invest in good quality, healthy food now, and not pay a lot in medical bills later. Other than the interesting lesson on externalities it was pretty gross to see how bad McDonald's is for not only your body, but your mind and spirit as well.

Freedom and fast food

In Super Size Me, the concept of externality is very clear. Everything has a hidden cost associated with it. I remember reading a report written by some vegan groups that every meat hamburger should be sold around $100 because to feed those animals it requires a lot of water, need land to farm corps to feed those animals, and therefor there is pollution. Another example would be if a company skip the processed of processing the wastes, their product will be cheaper and more competitive. If some company just dig out minerals without the obligation of taking care of the environment, they sure will be more competitive in the market. Total free market for cause is chaotic, only mafias and drug dealers will own everything. There is a cost to these business so the government, supposedly the collection of people's opinion, will stop it. Even in our body there are white cells to eat up those cancer cells. I have always thought that a sate of lawless free mind is a corrupted, and animal-like mind. Humanity, implies disciplines, control, and logic.

Underemployed woman receives aid from Tribune readers

Here is a link to a cool story in today's Chicago Tribune.  It parallels much of what we read in Nickel & Dimed.  I thought it was particularly touching that the Trib's readers responded with the level of support they did.  Way to go Chi-ca-go!

Externalities

I think Supersize Me was a great video that showed what externalities really are. I do think that it would be hard for low-income workers to get a great healthy meal say from Whole Foods, but you do not need Whole foods to have a balanced diet. No one really knows the health facts that are associated with McDonald’s and other fast food chains and this is causing low income workers’ weights to increase. I think Spurlock’s video was a great idea because he first hand, showed his viewers what fast food restaurants actually do to your health and what externalities actually are.

On The Topic of Mr. Spurlock and his "Little Adventure" With the Supersizes

I think that the film Supersize Me would actually be very helpful to any and all beginner level Economics classes. The reason I say this is that the issue of externalities is clearly quite an important one in the field of economics, sometimes shaping how businesses operate, and the two best examples of externalities that come from businesses that I can think of are pollution from factories and reduced health from fast food. The latter is perhaps the most widely used example, and Spurlock's film so clearly demonstrates the effects of McDonald's business model that nary a student would be able to forget the concept of an externality. Who, after all, can forget the sight of Spurlock throwing up out of a car window after consuming the result of McDonald's supersize business practice? It's a good film to begin with, albeit crude at times, but nonetheless illuminating from health standpoints and from an economic standpoint.

Freakonomics

What I thought was an extremely interesting part of the movie was the name segment. That if a parent were to name one twin Winner, and the other Loser, that it turns out Loser would be immensely more successful in life. It makes sense why too. One of the reasons that this part of the movie struck me was that I read an article over the summer about how names affect people. It talked about how names shaped one's personality but I thought that was crazy. I thought it didn't matter if my name was Steve or Kevin, I'd still be me. Freakonomics helped prove me wrong and that is why I liked it.

The Persuaders Post

I had never really thought that much about advertising till we watched The Persuaders in class. I found it pretty ridiculous that people put enough time and money into figuring out people's emotion towards advertisements. I understand that they need to do tests to see how it appeals, but one does not need to ask how they feel about eating a sandwich or something of that nature. This movie was a sad realization of what society has come to. People need to focus less on trying to make their products a part of American Culture and start figuring out how to create more jobs and better business plans. Song Airlines really made it far.

A culture shaped advertisement

A sentence form the film stuck with me "a culture of advertisement ceases to be a culture at all." I have always complained as a child way back in China that our poorly educated, old generation of manufactures have no idea how to shape the image of their product. The advertisements on TV were lame, the choices they took of naming the brands are dumb. While their quality of the goods might match those big brands, no one wants to buy them therefore they have to go the route of being cheap and sacrifice potential profit. The cheaper it is the less people would want to buy it. While I realize all those successful firm's ads are not like traditional ads at all they are just very cool, interesting or funny short films that make me want to watch them over and over again.

I thought this kind of things are only associated with the materialistic side of the world. But then its more than that. When I see some "real-artists" who make real art and live a life in a free manner, playing awesome music with a very old guitar that has a hole in it, I would want to pick up clothes in Good Will and somehow all of the objects there smells like California and "beat generation". In the film they actually got a group of Linux user and they said it felt like "being a part of the tribe." I am a Linux user myself and I know what they are talking about. By possessing certain object it demonstrate an attitude. It's like a religion, and instead of a cross with a guy nailed on it, we worship either an apple or a penguin. It has nothing to do it's value or profit, it's about message, and gospel.

The Persuaders - advertising changing our lives

I always knew that advertising was a interesting topic, but this movie really revealed how much time goes into even the tiniest aspect of a logo, like color or shape. I also found it to be an eye opening experience considering now i spend more time noticing logos and brands and how they are able to catch the attention of many people. I also think of how they are used to target certain age groups. Like at the grocery store all the colorful cereals with cartoon characters are strategical placed at the lower level of the shelf allowing kids to see them and it will appeal to them so they will attempt to beg their parents to buy it. Small things like that really have a big presence in the marketing world.

Freakanomics Video

I think while watching the film the most interesting segment to me was the idea of incentives and how they provide the ability for people to have a goal that will always motivate them to work. I thought the idea of how the girl was potty trained with candy was genius, until she began to understand the concept of hot it works and than began to abuse it. Also i thought that the children who were being payed to get good grades was pretty amazing. Some of them were able to really increase their grades while others were not effected by the incentive. It just goes to show that everyone takes incentives differently.

The Persuaders

What really stood out to me was the all the different ways Marketing can be twisted and formed to look like something other than the plain reality of manipulation. It's not lying, that would be an insult to the great profession because they don't actually need to lie about anything. I believe the best word is manipulation because the goal of Marketing is to take one product and make it as appealing as possible to as many people as possible, the only way to do that is exaggeration. This all makes perfect sense, and you would think that almost anything could be accomplished under these guidelines, but the sad truth is that if there is not a market for the product the marketing campaign can only do so much.

The Persuaders - advertising changing our lives

The movie "The Persuaders" made an excellent point that advertising has created a "second skin" in our society, and is becoming more like clutter than actual messages. Consumers are exposed to many types of commercial messages per day, including the radio, newspaper, television, and billboards. In fact, "the average American is exposed to 247 commercial messages each day" - Consumer Reports Website. And marketing and exposure of a company goes beyond just posters. Many consumers are marketers for a company without even knowing it; by wearing the logo of a brand, or talking about how much you love a certain company. The company's overall goal is to make their product blend it, to feel natural, not to appear as advertising. I found the invention of the "tevo" and tv recorder the most interesting. The company selling these products makes sales because it offers the television viewer the ability to record shows and then fast forward through the commercials. However, these companies also lessen the usefulness of commercials because the commercials are not being exposed to as many consumers since now they can skip through them. This is the cause of many youtube and pandora commercials, because the brands want to get their name out there somehow.

Advertising

The documentary that we saw gave me a different perspective on the world of marketing. As a consumer, advertising is interesting when you are unaware of a product, but once you have seen the same commercial over and over again, it becomes repetitive. The key is to keep commercials and television shows separate, otherwise there would be a backlash. I know personally that we have a Comcast recorder on our televisions at my house, and its fairly easy to skip over the commercials that you do not want to see.
And then there was the portion that discussed Song, the airplane company that went under and never recovered. The problem is that this airline was much different from other airlines, and didn't add something new. With advertising, it is about being first and being original. Song was neither and thus, in my opinion, went under. We are surrounded by consumerism because we are a capitalist society. We should have the right to have advertisments, but there is also a point when it becomes overkill.

How Names Affect an Application

I think that names and what you name your child do affect how your child appears on paper. Our world revolves around applications--applications for jobs, for high schools, for college. Often, the first step in an application process is how you appear on a resume, on paper. The first thing the interviewers read is your name, and often, according to Freakonomics, they make a snap judgement. There are names that sound "black," "white," "mexican," and such, and in some areas that are unofficially racially segregated, depending on the category that your child falls in because of their name, they may be at risk for not getting a certain job.

Advertising

Does advertising actually do anything? Everywhere you go, you see logos and slogans surrounding you. Advertisements bring in customers and customers improve your profits but have ads been working recently? The amount of advertisements in a given area have been increasing- increasing clutter. Although I do think advertisements do bring in customers and do make your business more well known, I think all companies struggle in the advertisement department. I am not saying all ads are stupid; I am saying that some companies have an interesting way to promote themeselves. On top of some advertisements lacking their watchers attention, it does not help that TV viewers can scan through commercials any time they have possible. As more and more people are buying Tivo and DirectTV, less ads are actually being watched a lot of money is going down the drain.

Even though I am somewhat skeptical about many advertisements, I am the Advertisement Manager for the school yearbook. I know how difficult it is to communicate with the costumer and shape yourself to their needs. It is not an easy job and it is hard to sell unless someone already knew they wanted before I made contact.

Freakanomics Video

I actually really enjoyed watching Freakanomics because I had never really thought about how a person's name could affect their future. I was so surprised to find out that someone with a so called 'black name' and someone with a 'white name' with the exact same resumes could not get the same jobs. I find it ridiculous. People's characters and work ethics should not be judged based on their names because really, people with a name like 'Temptress' or 'Loser' did not give themselves that name, the name was given to them by their parents.

Freakanomics did not just talk about naming your child. A project was put together with a goal of try and see whether or not students would maintain certain grades if they were paid at the end of each month. Although theses bribes worked for some, some kids grades got worse. Although I think I would take the bribe, I could see how some kids might think schooling is a joke if they are being bribed to do it. I can see how some kids are given the impression that homework is not mandatory if they are being paid to complete it.

Same Song and Dance

One thing I'd like to talk about with regards to this film is "Song." "Song" has to be one of the most ridiculous things I have ever encountered. The way that a company tried to create an advertising campaign, and instead created some kind of bizarre cultural movement that ended up not bringing in customers, but rather raising more questions. The fact that the campaign became so focused on an idea, a way of presenting "Song" so as to lose focus of the actual good itself, the airline. It is no surprise to me at all that Delta got rid of the "Song" division of their company; it became little more than a facade. Some of the people talking about advertising also talked about cults, and how what draws someone to a good is similar to what draws someone to join a cult. Song epitomizes that. People were drawn in by the attitude and the sense of community that Song provided.

The other thing I'd like to talk about is product placement, and how companies are moving away from traditional ads to webisodes, television, movies, etc. I personally hate blatant product placement. On the rare occasion that I do watch a music video it annoys me no end when there is an unnecessary lingering shot on a particular car, or drink, or pair of shoes, or pair of headphones. Yet, I didn't mind the usage of Starbucks in "I Am Sam." "I Am Sam" is easily one of my favorite movies, ever, and yet I am in no way annoyed by Starbucks' presence in the movie. It was not outrageous, it was not annoying, it was subtle, and, as the people in the movie said, Starbucks was kind of like a hero. Who hates heroes? Advertising doesn't have to be annoying, and outrageous, as with product placement and bad movies written around cars, they can be skillful in their utilization. They can work.

Superbowl Ads

Watching The Persuaders in class today made me think about the upcoming Superbowl ads.  This year's ads cost on average $3.5 million for every 30 seconds!

Here is one of my favorites from Superbowl XLIV.  Enjoy!

Incentives vs. Scare Tactics

Something incredibly ironic happened to me last night. While having a conversation with my father he informed me he was switching our insurance to another company, and that he was willing to make me an offer. The new insurance company was willing to strike $400 a year off of our insurance if I was able to maintain a “B” average in college, and that I would receive half of this should I be able to meet the requirements. Essentially, after watching the Freakonomics piece regarding offering children incentives to do well in school, I too was offered an incentive. I found the entire situation incredibly ironic, but accepted anyway. The thing is, even after this is offered, however, I don’t feel any differently or more motivated about doing substantially well in school. That is when my father joked about adding a second part to the deal, which was that should I not be able to acquire this discount, I would have to repay the $400 that I would save. Though I know he was only kidding, I immediately felt more terrified and motivated to do well in school through the usage of a fear tactic rather than an incentive. What I understood from this was that incentives and scare tactics cannot be used separately, but can be used together effectively. The whole point of an exercise such as this is to create a spark of motivation that will get a person to do what is asked of them, and through the letdown of the experiment by the University of Chicago as seen in the movie in addition to my own experience, I now see that.

The importance of names

While watching the movie "Freakonomics", the section about the wide range of baby names between races, social groups, and religions was the most interesting to me. However I disagree with the narrators that a baby's name is not highly important in the later success or failure of that child. I agree that there is a correlation between a child's future and their upbringing, but a child's name is their identity and a label to how they will be seen in society. In earlier centuries, names were chosen because of ancestors or people from the Bible or other religious texts. Today, celebrities are naming their kids after months, fruit, and colors; musicians change their names to something more prominent, and there is a large stigma with black names in our society. Names like Helen, Joseph, Laura, and Matt, are replaced by Hunter, Paige, and Kylie, or unique spellings of names such as Aimee and Rhys. During the one scene in the strip club, one of the dancers was telling the audience not to name their children Barbie or Candy because they were bound to grow up and become "entertainers". I found a website that stated that a British study of 3,000 parents released in May suggested "one-in-five parents regret the name they chose for a child, many of whom were distressed over the unusual or oddly spelled names they'd chosen." The baby naming phenomenon has become so large that people work as professional "baby namers". Names are extremely important to a child's future because our culture is biased on what we see and hear. A name could make or break a job, or cause someone to live in glory or shame.

Incentives and Senioritis

The movie suggested that human nature is to work for the sake of earning incentives.  The movie introduced the idea of paying 9th graders for getting good grades as a for of incentives for hard work.  The incentive of money, however, seemed to be fairly ineffective for one student even if it worked for another.  Although one kid really liked the idea of winning, getting driven home in a limousine, etc. the other did not find the incentive to be enough to work towards the goal.  Its possible that for him the goal was too high, as he appeared to be fully intent of waiting until he got kicked out of school to join the army.  It seems to me that the reward should have applied to someone raising their grade in general, not for hitting a predetermined benchmark.  Furthermore, I do not think that the incentive of money was enough for all of the students.  Like the failing student said, he wanted to be the class clown and be social in high school.  A better incentive would have been if his friends thought better of him for doing well in school, or if he had to achieve a certain level of grades to hang out with them as often.  In this specific scenario, I think that we would have to examine the work and rewards of each individual student in order to get the best result, which suggests that this type of work falls to the parents, not the school.

When incentives back fire/What incentive is

The most interesting topic of the film has to be the study of trying to improves students' grades by bribing them. At first, the skater boy and the African American boy both showed a lot of interest and both found the reward attractive. The African American boy, especially, showed great interest not only in the money but the limousine, which is not an actual financial material gain but a gain in status. They both set out to do it and try to earn it. This is exactly like when we were when we first came to the world. But just like what happens in the normal situations, some people make it, some people don't. While some gain from the program, getting the taste of being success and material gain, others who are not doing as well and see everyone else are pocketing $50 and going to ride a limo, it is very frustrating and then the incentive will become destructive. As we can see the skater boy's grade just drop to the ground after his fail attempts. He obviously got discouraged. This makes me realize that incentives really is the need of triumph over our peers. We always compares ourselves to our peers, if we are in someway better than others, we will feel good about selves. Money, limo merely offers us the mean to do it, for example, being able to purchase better clothing, improving living standards. But if one fail in a program that offers money, money won't be attractive anymore for he/she has fail to be better than the peers. A insult. This make me realize money isn't the incentive itself, and incentive is something non-materialistic, even though material can make it happen.

Bribing sorta works..

I think it was a very interesting experiment they had, the school and kids they choose were ideal. The argument could be made, however, that they choose the wrong kids because their environment promoted failure, but this was the perfect situation. It would provide the most accurate measure of how much an insensitive such as money effects the human work ethic. From what i saw an incentive can only do so much though, if a person just doesn't want to work or sees something else as more important it won't work. The kids who were border line, "D's" but were still trying benefited. Those who were in the "E" range and just didn't even try didn't benefit because the incentive wasn't great enough, i feel if there was a substantial amount more incentive( maybe 1 mil ) then there could have been different results. The experiment as a whole those does show that incentive plays a role in how hard people are will to work for a goal.

name brands??

After watching the movie I thought about what my name means to others. To the people that know me personally or just happen to be an acquaintance. There’s the idea of living up to ones name but again I find that to be absurd. So many people with the same name and yet some will go further than others. I completely agree that success does not have to do with the name itself, but mainly with the area one grows up in, to a certain point. It was interesting to see how names do affect whether one will be hired or stereotyped. I understand that my name does sound Mexican. The Cervantes gives it away, but it does not define the work that I am capable of doing. It just happens to be part of my culture, such as African Americans and their unique sounding names. The idea of what names represent would be that they are like names of certain brands just like what the video talked about. It would be harder to sell one self if it does not appeal to the market!  

Response to Freakonomics

The movie "Freakonomics" I found to be interesting on a number of levels. They were able to bring economics down to a level that a normal person would understand, and made comparisons that were both shocking and fascinating. One segment that I found fascinating was the section about Sumo wrestling and their comparison to how Wallstreet and the banks work. Normally, one wouldn't think that they'd be so similar, but they are. They are both gilded, appear to be perfect on the outside, but have their holes and secrets. Thousands of people are in the corrupt system of Wall Street, and without it would be worthless. Both systems are in escapable, and for the elite minority must exist in order to profit off of it. Also, although most people now know about the corruption of Wall Street and a few know about the corruption of Sumo wrestling, not much can be done about it. The people in charge are willing to silence whoever they must to keep the system as rigged as it is. People call what Wall Street has become "capitalism", but capitalism in itself is not bad. It's part of what our country was founded on. However, everything has a light and dark side to it, as does capitalism, and the corruption is simply a part of it. Hopefully someday things will get better, but I doubt that corruption can ever be completely erased.

In Response To Freakonomics

Now, naturally, I understand that we have not finished the movie yet, but it is my understanding that this blog post is in response to what we have viewed thus far in class, not the entire movie. What I would like to talk about is the opening of the movie, wherein the viewer is first introduced to the idea that to everything there is a hidden side. The example of real estate is used to illustrate the incentives of the real estate agent to prove that in all truth, the home owner wishing to sell and the real estate agent do not have the same goal. While it was a good example because it was simple and straightforward, and allowed the viewer to immerse themselves in the subject without becoming overwhelmed. I do think that it is an oversimplification, and is not sufficiently surprising for an apparently expositional movie. It turns out that real estate agents are not as caring of what price the home owner gets for a house as the home owner him or herself. Surprise, surprise. If the movie had started with something more surprising and less obvious, it would have been a better start to the movie. Not all movies require surprise in the opening to hook a viewer, but a movie that is supposed to be eye-opening should open the viewers' eyes immediately.

Alanna's post about Freakonomics

I know we haven’t finished freakonomics yet, but I know what I want to talk about already… A few of you are aware of the Inquiry, Purpose, and Global Citizenship class available to seniors, and I am a member of that class (I swear this relates). The part of the movie I have found incredibly interesting thus far is when they talked about the declining crime rates due to the legalization of abortion in the late 70’s. One of the reasons I found this so interesting is that in the Inquiry, Purpose, and Global Citizenship class we are currently discussing the upcoming elections and politics in general, this has led to several discussions of a woman’s right to choose. There are candidates running for presidency who believe abortion should be illegal, I believe that a woman has the right to choose, and it’s great to see that there is data that exists to back this point of view. Also I now understand what Mr. Curren meant when he said these were adult concepts, and I am really enjoying the stories that this movie has thus far presented. The study about how your name relates to how your life will turn out was interesting, because they found that your culture/environment plays into your name more than anything and that is also an indicator of how your life could potentially turn out. Overall this is a very insightful film, and because of that I am excited to now read the book.

Is Senior-itis due to a lack of incentives?

One of the first topics we will study this semester is the power of incentives.

Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt state in their famous book - and movie - called Freakonomics that incentives drive everything we do. We'll watch their film during the second week of class and learn that sometimes determining the root cause of human behavior is trickier than we think. Pay particular attention to the segment "Can you bribe a ninth grader to succeed?" 

One of the challenges I face every year is teaching second term seniors. It's not easy keeping the attention of young people who have already determined what college they will attend in the fall. My task as a teacher is to provide incentives that still work on someone who can see the light at the end of the high school tunnel.

As a second term senior, what, if any, incentives exist for you? Are you just putting in your time or do you still feel as committed to your schoolwork as you did during your junior year?