Economics
Coach Moson / Mr. Marenda (supply)
Extra Credit (you can also Download Extra Credit Opportunity 1_test category )
Opportunity
DUE: FRIDAY 2/6/09
Blocks 1, 3, 4
INSTRUCTIONS:
Your task, should you choose to accept it…..
This is an extra credit opportunity to improve the test average component of your grade and thus to improve your overall grade. The opportunity will be listed in PINNACLE as “Extra Credit Opportunity 1” (test category). It will be a possible maximum 25 points out of 0. In other words, you have the chance to add a maximum of 25 points to your total test points. For example, if after three tests you have a 250 / 300 possible points, completing the extra credit for maximum value will add 25 points to your score: (250 + 25) / 300. To put it another way, this is extra credit that gets distributed across the total of your test scores. **PARTIAL CREDIT IS POSSIBLE!!**
Choose ONE of the following two options (either option is for 25 points):
Option 1: Read the article “The Dystopians” by Ben McGrath. Found here or Download Dystopians (requires free Adobe Acrobrat Reader). Write a 3-page paper in which you explore the economic concepts we are learning in class. The article examines the implications of economic collapse, especially in relation to the current market crisis. From a broad American perspective, identify the economic trade-offs that may come with an economic collapse. Consider these broader trade-offs in comparison/contrast with the specific trade-offs Mr. Orlov and Mr. Kunstler have made or envision making. Finally, if the doomsayers are right, you will come of age and enter the work force in the economy they predict: assume they are right – how does that affect your economic decision making? What kinds of skills or knowledge sets would be valuable to you in such an economy? What kinds of trade-offs and opportunity costs do you face in preparing for such an economy?
Option 2: You are given three different budgets on which to live for one month: $1000, $2000, $3000. (Annual salaries of 12K, 24K, and 36K, respectively.) First, construct a spreadsheet table showing how you would allocate your budget across your needs/wants. Identify all of your expenditures and provide as much detail as possible. For example, don’t just supply “food” and a dollar amount – identify whether you are eating out or cooking at home, whether you are buying lunch at a local deli or stopping for coffee and a bagel. Remember, you are identifying everything for which you distributed your budget. Second, write a short 3 page paper in which you explain your decision making process for each of your budgets and identify the trade-offs and opportunity costs; consider why you made the choices that you made moving from one budget to the next, also as you decide what to do with a given budget. Do you attempt to save money or invest it? Does your budget give you enough money to occasionally have some fun? Does having a larger budget give you more flexibility – if so, in what ways and why?
