1) Scarcity is always the answer. If there is ever a question on why a store couldn't produce this, or why a person can only buy so many things; the answer is always scarcity. Scarcity means that people have unlimited wants but limited resources. This means a choice must be made. The only time scarcity isn't the answer is with oil.
2) It is not a good thing that gas is cheap. When I started Ekernomics I loved when gas prices were low, but now I know that low gas prices are not something to celebrate. Gas prices are so low right now because there is a surplus in oil all over the world. Since there is so much the price has gone down and has made smaller oil businesses have to close down and/or lay off their workers because they can not afford to pay them.
3) Everything is affected by supply and demand. Every product has an equilibrium price but depending on certain factors the demand and supply graphs can shift. Factors such as: consumer income, tastes, substitutes, future expectations, and number of consumers can all affect the demand of a product. Government regulations, future expectations, number of sellers, and cost of inputs can all affect the supply of a product. Why did heelies go out of style? Because the demand was low so the supply decreased until heelies stopped being made. Why are buffalo wings always so expensive on Super Bowl weekend? Because the company knew that more wings would be bought during the Super Bowl so they increased the price.
4) Utils are the only unit of measurement I care about. Utils are a unit used to qualify the satisfaction and happiness a person gets from a product; this differs from person to person. I get a huge amount of utils from eating a donut, while someone else might get none (but I don't know how that would even be possible, donuts are amazing).
5) Real GDP is where it's at. GDP is the value of all final goods and services produced in a country over a period of time (usually a year). Nominal GDP doesn't adjust for inflation so it's not a good measure to use. This is why most economist use real GDP which is adjusted for inflation.
6) The business cycle isn't actually a cycle it's just a squiggly line. The business cycle shows the level of real output vs. time on a graph that results in a curvy line. This line shows the peak and the expansion that it takes to get to it; and also the trough and the recession it takes to get to it.
7) "What's in your wallet" doesn't actually matter. The amount of money you have right now doesn't matter what really matters is how much purchasing power you have. This is the amount of goods and services that can be bought by a given amount of money.
8) There are two main economic policies: fiscal and monetary. Fiscal policy is where the government uses taxes and government spending to control the speed of the economy. An increase in government spending and a decrease in taxes will result in more consumer spending and vice versa. Monetary policy is when the Federal Reserve (the Fed) increases or decreases the money supply to control the speed of the economy. The Fed does this in three main ways: (1) reserve requirement, (2) discount rate, (3) open market operations (government bonds).
10) Janet Yellen controls the world. Well maybe not the world, but she definitely has some major control over our economy since she is the head of the Fed.
11) Joe Biden is our Vice President. He is currently our vice president. I would just like to point out I eventually go to this conclusion it just took me a few minutes.
And finally the most important thing I've learned this year
12) DaaJones is not a person, but actually Dow Jones one of the largest business and financial news companies in the world.
Now that we have gone over some important things that we have learned this year, I can't wait for what the next 9 weeks has to offer. I personally would like to know more about . . . well I guess anything because I can't think of anything about the economy I know even a little bit about to be able to ask to know more about.
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