RS 12 Interview Reaction

This blogpost is my reaction to the interview project we were assigned. The three interviewees for my project were my grandfather, my mother, and last was myself. Overall it was a good experience and get to know how different our answers were to the same questions. 

Interviewing myself was real weird. It was more of just answering questions, but the idea of it being an interview made it feel different. Some questions that were answered were not the best because of the fact Im still young and did not experience as much as my other interviewers. 

My grandfather was a really interesting choice because he has been around and experienced so much. He is 76 years old and still pretty on top of everything he does. He is a smart man finding out how much different things were back then and what he has gone through was pretty cool. 

My mom was a good time to interview. She is not the smartest person, but does try her best. Some questions on the economy she had no idea and basically just guessed. It was fun interviewing her and something I looked forward to. 

RS 11 Interview Project

Grandpa: 76
Mom: 49 
Me: 19


The government should regulate the economy?
Grandpa: Disagree 
Mom: Agree
Me: Disagree


Politics has a major influence on the economy?
Grandpa: Agree
Mom: Agree
Me: Agree


Everyone should take an economics class in high school?
Grandpa: Agree
Mom: Strongly Agree
Me: Strongly Agree


The drinking age should be lowered to 18?
Grandpa: Strongly Disagree
Mom: Strongly Disagree
Me: Agree



The government bailouts worked?
Grandpa: Strongly Disagree
Mom: Strongly Disagree
Me: Disagree



The United States should have a higher minimum wage?
Grandpa: Disagree
Mom: Strongly Disagree
Me: Disagree



In 6 months the economy will be better than today?
Grandpa: Disagree
Mom: Strongly Disagree
Me: Neutral 



I am well informed about economic news?
Grandpa: Strongly Agree
Mom: Strongly Disagree
Me: Neutral 



The recession personally affected me?
Grandpa: Disagree
Mom: Agree
Me: Agree



In your lifetime, what city that you are familiar with has changed the most (both positive and negative)?
Grandpa: New York City has changed in a negative way because of the population growth and congestion. It has changed in a positive way because of its diversity.
Mom: New york, positive more buildings for employment, negitive over crowded
Me: 



In your opinion, what president had the biggest positive impact on the economy? Why? 
Grandpa: President Ronald Regan because he reduced the size of government and budgeted spending without a deficit
Mom: Obama he positively crushed it
Me: Bush. president majority and War on Iraq



What is your first memory of a major economic event impacting your life? 
Grandpa: The FHA cost of buying my first home in 1960 was lowered?
Mom: When the market crashed
Me: Recession 




What tradeoffs in your life have you made due to economics (note to interviewer/student: this question is about the concept of scarcity)? During WWII many items including gas and food were rationed?
Grandpa: During WWII many items including gas and food were rationed
Mom: made drastic cut backs
Me: Eating cheap meals in school and saving money for beer 


How do you get economic news? How has this changed over your life?
Grandpa: I get economic news from watching Fox News on TV. Over my lifetime this has changed because TV news is now 24/7,  whereas  I used to get it mostly from the Newspaper.
Mom: from tv it keeps me updated in what direction the country is going
Me: TV, going to class, and news paper

How do you deal will rising prices e.g. substitute cheaper brand, stop buying? Any examples?
Grandpa: I frequent the larger chain stores more often and watch for product sales and coupons.
Mom: buy cheaper and buy less or do with out
Me: In college cheaper is better 



What product or service has most changed over your lifetime?
Grandpa: The price of gas.
Mom: Gas
Me: Gas  



How do you handle saving and how has this changed?
Grandpa:I have saved for many years in an IRA prior to my retirement. I have an investment portfolio which is diversified. As I get older my portfolio is adjusted to reduce equities (stocks) and increase debt instruments (bonds).
Mom: Saving has been much harder is the getting by strategy
Me:Save as much as possible, but college is expensive 



What was your wage at your first job?
Grandpa: My wage was about $300.00 per week in my first engineering job in 1960.
Me: About $10.00 working for my dads furniture company
Mom: Wage of first job was $3.35

How much does the stock market affect your life?
Grandpa: It does not affect my life very much because my portfolio contains diversified index mutual funds allocated

Me: Does not affect me as much any more because I cashed out my portfolio for college

 What age were you when you got your first credit card?

Mom: First credit card at age 23 

RS 8 Unemployment

This blog post is my analysis of the economic podcast “Episode 392: Keeping the Biggest Secret in the US Economy.” This podcast appeared on the Planet Money website on August 3, 2012. The podcast is a overview of public release the monthly job numbers that tell everyone from stock traders to business' exactly how the economy is working. This secretive number is released once a month on a friday and people wish they knew it ahead of time.

The Bureau goes to extents to keep this number away from the public until the friday it is released. The economists are sworn to not tell anyone from the tuesday they find it out until that friday. If these numbers were to fall into the wrong hands or someone to find out they could make millions or even billions off of it. That is why they go to the extent of these employees to take out their own garbage, fix their own computers, and not let anyone in their office or know the numbers. 

It sounds crazy, but I think it is good that they do all of this. No one should know the numbers early and be able to make money easier. The numbers have been released early once, but thankfully in the hands of a good guy. He was not thinking of making a quick buck, but instead called of the Bureau and a close friend their to let them know that the numbers were out to the public early so they would be able to do something. 

RS 6 Cliffhanger

This blog post is my analysis of the PBS Frontline video “Cliffhanger,” which aired on February 12, 2013. In this video, Frontline investigates the country’s problem of debt and deficit. The video talks about The US Federal deficit or the government spending more than what they are getting in revenue in the year. The fiscal cliff was the sharp decline because of increased taxes in 2013 due to the new term. With the mid-term election it split up the power between republicans and democrats. President Obama was faced with tough decisions and private meetings were set up to try and accomplish something. 

Debt is very bad for the economy and can truly hurt it. One major thing is lower the value of the dollar and is a crucial problem. The estimated time for the deficit to be reduced is in the year 2013 by about almost half. This can higher the unemployment, but increase the economic growth. We will see in this year to come, but it is truly something that has to be done. Everyone will be affect good or bad, but it is the only way for this to try to go away. 

RS 4 Would You Let a Coin Toss Determine Your Future?

This blog post is my analysis on the economics podcast “Would You Let a Coin Toss Decide Your Future,” by Katherine Mills. This podcast appeared on the Freakonomics Radio Podcast on January 31, 2013. In the podcast we discuss the options of flipping a coin to determine your future and quitting. Quitting is not something people like to do and want to be known for, but sometimes people just get tired of doing something they no longer love.  Freakonomics set up an experiment to flip a coin to determine peoples futures whether to quit or do something else. They are trying to see if the outcome of the coin gives new hope to that person or will they continue to do something they do not like
 and be upset. 




I think that flipping a coin or playing rock, paper, scissors such as Daniel Harrington tell us is a different way to make decisions rather than sit there and way every outcome of your decision and be stressed, but not on something that will change your life. I understand this might have worked for him, but just flipping a coin and letting your fate rely on heads or tails is crazy. Risk and reward can be different for every decision and getting the wrong side of the coin can hurt your future.  In my opinion I would rather weigh my options and go by what i believe is the right choice, not some lucky flip. If i make the wrong decision I could know that it was me that did it and not what could have been if i tossed the coin a little higher.

RS 3 A New Mom and the President of Iceland

This blog post is my analysis on the economic podcast “Episode 267: A New Mom and the President of Iceland.” This podcast appeared on the planet money website on February 1, 2013. In 2008 Iceland was hit hard with the recession and suffered a huge financial crisis. Major banks in the country fell and people that invested in places like the UK and the Netherlands were unable to take their money out. 

The President of Iceland made a decision to not reimburse the people who invested their money with the banks to lower the losses that Iceland was going through. A vote was set up for the Iceland people to vote "yes" or 'no" on whether or not the investors should receive their money back, and majority voted no. 

The British and Dutch were not to happy about this and filed a lawsuit against Iceland for their money back. Luckily Iceland was in favor on the suit and did not have to pay back all the money. I think that this is a really tough situation to be in the middle of, but thats life. The people who invested in these banks could have put their money any where else, but chose here. It is like investing in a stock and it losing money. You know the risks.  

RS 2: A Billion-Dollar Bet Against Weight-Loss Shakes

This blog post is an analysis on the economic podcast “A Billion-Dollar Bet Against Weight Loss Shakes.”  This podcast appeared on the planet money website on January 18, 2013. The podcast involves a billion dollar company named Herbalife  and complications that are arising around them. Bill Ackman a hedge fund manager has went against this company and has made his voice heard that he believes this company is a pyramid scheme. He is so confident and wants it to be right, that he has shorted the Herbalife stock which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange "ONE BILLION DOLLARS". 





On this I stand behind Ackman. I also believe the company is a fraud and a pyramid scheme like many others like the make-up door to door companies and similar to Cutco knife sales. Though he has such a strong feeling a billion dollar wager in shorting a stock of a company that has been successful for 30 years is risky. WIth saying that i have never even heard of the products this company sells. Being a four billion dollar company with no advertisement and research and development money being spent, something has to be up. 


After Ackman came out and said that Herbalife is a pyramid scheme in a 300 slide powerpoint on the company the companies stock dropped 14.6 points. This also is what Ackman wants. Shortening the stock he will make money every time it drops and hopes that it will fall to zero. On his part it could be smart that he went to the public and was so outspoken because it will shake the people and the stock up. Who knows where these products are being sold after the venders let other people sell it or who it is going to. The company obviously doesn't care about being a healthy company, but making money being a pyramid scheme.