Final Exam

Best of luck on the final exam. See final homework assignment or click here for it.

Income Inequality

Read this article on the growing income inequality in America. Yes, it's long... But it's worth it. This will probably be your most comprehensive assignment to date. Best of luck. Take comfort in knowing that it's the last reading...

To help you with these questions, several youtube clips for and against. The first wo are focusing on the disappearance of the middle class from Paul Krugman and Elizabeth Warren--two heavyweights in their respective fields. The Warren talk is about an hour long, but is more than worth it for those who are dedicated and/or have no life.

The second two clips counter the above talks to some extent and are much shorter. The first is from Milton Friedman--one of the most influential economists of the past 100 years and from Michael Novak another distinguished scholar. Enjoy and good luck.

Paul Krugman on the middle class:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kwA-CwFK5A

Elizabeth Warren, Chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel: U of CA, Berkely talk on the coming collapse of the middle class:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A&feature=related

Milton Friedman on Greed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A&feature=related

Michael Novak defending the Rich/Poor Gap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZhQvrkHs4g&feature=watch_response

Student Debt

Tuition continues to rise, and total higher-education debt has surpassed credit-card debt for the first time, rising to $830 billion in mid-2010 and continuing to climb.

Tonight's work? Student Debt. Check out the article and hmwk questions in the ususually spots. I am also including a link... just click here. On the new Obama plan for student loans. Worth a look--seeing as how this directly impacts you. Best of luck and I'll see you in class.

Foreign Aid

To give or not to give... That is this weeks question.

All right. The readings consist of two interview excerpts on the topic of foreign aid and consequently two different points-of-view. Please read and answer the questions accordingly. In the second half of the class we will be discussing research papers and the annotated bibliography. Fun stuff all around.

Week 4 HMWK and Questions are up

Education

This week's topic is over education. You will be reading an article about Michelle Rhee, the former Washington D.C. Superintendent of Education. The article is a few years old; consequently it takes places during her tenure. At the heart of this issue is what is best for our students? Seems like a fairly simple question, but one that has proven to be largely debated. See the ususal sources for the article as well as the questions. Remember to shoot for at least two pages, double-spaced, and support your arguments. Feel free to use any additional resources to help you answer the questions. You will need to read the article to answer some of the questions. Best of luck.

Week 3 HMWK and Readings: The National Debt

"The consequences arising from the continual accumulation of public debts in other countries ought to admonish us to be careful to prevent their growth in our own."
-----John Adams, First Address to Congress, Nov. 23, 1797


After we finish our discussion on gentrification we are going to try to take a stab at the national debt. All of the federal government's efforts to stem the tide of the financial meltdown have added hundreds of billions of dollars to an already staggering national debt, a sum that is expected to double over the next 10 years to more than $23 trillion.

Good times....
Well, your homework is fairly straightfoward.
1.) read the attached article
2.) get a hold of the NY Times article (click here) budget puzzle game
3.) answer the questions and complete the puzzle.

As always, print-outs will be made available. Best of luck.

Week 2: Gentrification

Week 1 answers to intelligent design and evolution are due by the 2nd half of class tonight.
Week 2 questions and readings will be handed out tonight and are now posted on the blog. They are due by the second-half of class on Week 3. Best of luck.