Week 4 -- Recession as a good thing?

This week's post is a combination of personal finance and economics.  It will be centered around a blog posting on the website Steadfast Finances entitled "20 Reasons Why I Love the Recession."  It is an interesting counter-argument to all the doom and gloom we hear about the media.  The question you are to respond to is: is he right?  Do the benefits outweigh the costs of this recession right now? Your answer should consider both short term and long term analysis of the economy, and should include one thing you agree with the author on and one thing you disagree with him on. 

Word count: 300+
Due 1/31/10 @ 12pm.

Week 3-- Becoming "Untouchable" in the Labor Market

This week's post's is as much about sociology as it is about economics.  We talked and you posted  last week about the different types of unemployment and what the government should and should not do about it.  This week we are going to probe a little deeper and explore perhaps another factor contributing to our high level of unemployment in this country. 

We talked last week about how the H1B Visas are allowing US firms to go overseas and recruit talent for their companies and bring them back here to the US for work.  Your personal or political feelings about this aside, it becomes apparent that this shifts the supply curve for labor way to the right making competition for jobs in the market that much fiercer. 

Luckily for you there is a remedy for this...well...kind of.  In his piece called "The New Untouchables" Thomas Friedman explores what it takes to succeed in this new labor market.  Your post this week is to read Friedman's "New Untouchables" piece and comment on what you think needs to change in the system based upon what he wrote.  What do you think needs to change in the system? If you were to design a system to make students become the new "untouchables" what would it look like compared to what you are experiencing now?  Make sure you cite Friedman's piece to support your argument.

I understand I am asking you to post a critque about my profession, and I hope that you trust the fact that I will grade you solely upon the support for your arguments/opinons and not the arguments/opinions themselves.  This is your chance to have your voice heard about things that the system is doing well and things that the system can do much better at.  It should go without saying that your comments should run deeper than "let Juniors and JLO's" and "eliminate health club days." I want you to seriously think about the education system...are students coming out of public schools in general ready for the workforce?

If you are stumped or want to consider a different perspective, check out the idea that Will Richardson (a technology educator from Iowa) has about totally eliminating high school as a building and do all of our learning online through social networks (think facebook for school).  Would that work?

I mentioned above there is a remedy for this...and while the education system is slow to change sometimes, you can take control of your destiny.  Friedman points out that "average just won't cut it anymore..." and that is a good lesson to learn with the increasing numbers in our labor supply...make sure you go out and become the best you can be at something. And until there is institutional change, that is not only the remedy, but your responsibility. 

300+ words
Due 12pm on 1/24/10

Week 2: Unemployment and Recession

December unemployment numbers were out last week (Link) and they are still hovering around 10% for the country, with parts of the country doing better and other parts doing worse.  For your blog post this week, you need to decide whether you think the government is doing a good enough job stabilizing the economy or that government needs to do more to help boost the economy back up.  In your post you are to find an article online that supports your position and post the link that article to your post while explaining how it supports your opinion. 

Please post responses by clicking on the "comment" section below ONLY. 

Word Count: 300+

Due Sunday 1/17/10 @ 12pm.