ECONOMY & UNEMPLOYMENT

Jessica Rubino- Mike Neluis - Lydia Jabin

History

Began as a farming economy in the 1776 The Panic of 1837

5 years of depression Record high unemployment

Great Depression 1930s New Deal

2008 Financial crisis GDP fell 5% in one year

Goals of The US economy

Stable Prices- avoid inflation and debts Full Employment- achieve 4% or less

unemployment rate and ensure equal opportunity for qualified workers

Economic Growth- to increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and reduce dependency on foreign goods and services

Economic Policies

San Francisco’s minimum wage- $10 This surpass standard minimum wage (national

average- $7.25) This discourages employers from hiring

employees due to the increased expenses as well as discourages business from starting up within city limits.

Monetary Supply- low interest rates from Federal Reserve Bank Implemented to counteract the Recession This allows business to expand due to low

interest rates

Economic Policies Cont.

America Dream 99% Act Enacting the Emergency Jobs would boost employment by approximately

1.1 million jobs in each of years 2012 and 2013. Continuing the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program would

boost employment by roughly 323,000 jobs in fiscal 2012 and 185,000 jobs in 2013

Reinstating the Making Work Pay tax credit for 2012 and 2013 would boost employment by 409,000 in fiscal 2012 and 532,000 jobs in 2013.

Reinstating the higher Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) used to determine federal reimbursement for state Medicaid programs would boost employment by 349,000 jobs in 2012

Increasing federal surface transportation investments by $50 billion in the next decade would increase employment by 47,000 jobs in fiscal 2012 and 112,000 jobs in 2013

Defusing the automatic spending cuts currently scheduled under the Budget Control Act would boost employment by more than 1.1 million jobs in 2013

Economic Policies Cont.

Economic Stimulus plan of 2008 Cost $152 billion dollars Intended to boost the economy in reaction to the

Recession Provides for tax rebates to low- and middle income

tax payers Tax incentives to stimulate business investments Increase in the limits imposed on mortgages eligible

for purchase by government-sponsored enterprises

Unemployment

The percent of Americans seeking work who are unable to find it.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts a number to it 60,000 household survey each month

However, this tends to underestimate the true rate Excludes “discouraged workers”

Underemployment

Includes unemployed and discouraged workers

Rises with the unemployment rate Also determined by the BLS

Monitoring Money

The rise in price of goods and services BLS kept tabs on this through the

Consumer Price Index (CPI) CPI- purchases a basket of fixed goods

each month and monitors price Each month BLS workers spread across US

and purchase over 80,000 items CPI’s goal- to create a measure that

reflects changes over time in the amount that consumers need to spend to achieve a certain standard of living

Trends

Rose 10% in late 2009 (tends to be higher for young adults

2010 unemployment- 9.5% underemployment- 16.5% Sharp rise in inflation in 1973, 1974, and

1979 Rate of inflation- 11% in 1979 and 14% in

1980 averages below 4% in US 2008 exceeded 5%

Unemployment in the US

Resolution

Offer tax cuts to big corporations Requirements would be put in place to ensure

the savings was translated into greater employment

Efforts to create government jobs would be made Through creation of Government Corporations

or use of private contractors

The Big Compromise

We would no longer implement a flat tax Individual’s taxes will be adjusted to increase federal revenue. A

minimum tax would be of 9% (below the current minimum) for all, 12% for those making $75,000 and 15% for those making $200,000 per year. This will work like the current system . For example if someone make $250,000 or more in a year they pay 9% on the first $75,000 then 12% on the next $125,000 and 15% on the last $50,000 for a grand total of $29,250 no matter what circumstances apply.

We will create programs to aid citizens living in poverty. This will help reduce the number of citizens not currently paying taxes. We hope to get people on their feet and not dependent on the governments money. Programs such as disabled and veterans aid would not only be

encouraged but created. We believe in helping those who need it and eliminating loop holes in which people can live off government with no justifiable reasoning. The federal definition of words such as disabled will be under harsh review in an attempt to give maximum aid to those in need.

Deductions will be eliminated for individual income tax. We will redirect the energy put into unnecessary deduction efforts and focus it on circumstantial aid.

Discussion Questions

1. Do you believe this is a fair resolution? Why or Why not? If not what do you believe is a fair compromise?

2. Do you believe that unemployment or the job market needs a bailout or should the government wait and see if the job market will rebound when and if the trade markets and the general United States economy pick up?

If you were unemployed what do you think you could do to improve your chance of finding a job?

Article

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/business/for-jobless-little-hope-of-full-recovery-study-says.html?_r=1&ref=layoffsandjobreductions

What is your solution to the unemployment issue?

What should be done about welfare? What is one way to help gain the

benefits of the previous job back?

Bibliography:

Censky, Annalyn. "Federal Reserve Puts Monetary Policy on Ice - Dec. 13, 2011." CNNMoney - Business, Financial and Personal Finance News. 13 Dec. 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/13/news/economy/fed_rates_bernanke/index.htm?iid=SF_E_Lead>.

Edwards, Wattenberg, and E. Lineberry. "Economic Policymaking." Government in America. 15th ed. Pearson, 2007. Print

"Government Departments and Agencies | USA.gov." USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal. USA.gov. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://www.usa.gov/Agencies.shtml>.

Moran, Andrew. "San Francisco to Become First U.S. City with $10 Minimum Wage." Digital Journal: A Global Digital Media Network. 12 Dec. 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/315985>.

"U.S. Economy at a Glance." U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Web. 10 Dec. 2011. <http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/glance.htm>.

Censky, Annalyn. "Federal Reserve Puts Monetary Policy on Ice - Dec. 13, 2011." CNNMoney - Business, Financial and Personal Finance News. 13 Dec. 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://moey.cnn.com/2011/12/13/news/economy/fed_rates_bernanke/index.htm?iid=SF_E_Lead>.

Bibliography (continued) :  "Economy of the United States." Wikipedia,

the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_economy>.

"The Impacts Of Long-Term Unemployment : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.npr.org/2011/12/09/143438731/the-impacts-of-long-term-unemployment>.