Questions
A company is considering the purchase of a large stamping machine that will cost $140,000, plus...

A company is considering the purchase of a large stamping machine that will cost $140,000, plus $6,500 transportation and $12,000 installation charges. It is estimated that, at the end of five years, the market value of the machine will be $50,000. The IRS has established that this machine will fall under a three-year MACRS class life category. The justifications for the machine include $35,000 savings per year in labor and $45,000 savings per year in reduced materials. The before-tax MARR is 20% per year, and the effective income tax rate is 40%. What is the after-tax equivalent annual worth of this investment over the five year period which ends with the sale of the machine?    (Do not enter a dollar sign $ with your answer.)

In: Economics

Why has there been a proliferation of interest groups in the United States? What have been...

Why has there been a proliferation of interest groups in the United States? What have been the effects on the political process? What are some of the historical reasons for the proliferation of interest groups during the 1930s and the 1960s?

In: Economics

As an alternative you may discuss ‘Transfer Payments’. List, describe, and give an example of at...

As an alternative you may discuss ‘Transfer Payments’. List, describe, and give an example of at least 5 types. Do you or your family benefit from any? In your opinion are these good programs? What, if anything, would you change?

In: Economics

Analyze the theory of pluralism. What are some of the assumptions of pluralism concerning the role...

Analyze the theory of pluralism. What are some of the assumptions of pluralism concerning the role of interests and factions in American politics? How did James Madison suggest factions be addressed? What are some contemporary criticisms of pluralism?

In: Economics

The classical dichotomy is the separation of real and nominal variables. The following questions test your...

The classical dichotomy is the separation of real and nominal variables. The following questions test your understanding of this distinction.

Megan spends all of her money on magazines and mandarins. In 2012, she earned $18.00 per hour, the price of a magazine was $9.00, and the price of a mandarin was $1.00.

Which of the following give the nominal value of a variable? Check all that apply.

Megan's wage is $18.00 per hour in 2012.

Megan's wage is 2 magazines per hour in 2012.

The price of a mandarin is 0.11 magazines in 2012.

Which of the following give the real value of a variable? Check all that apply.

Megan's wage is 18 mandarins per hour in 2012.

Megan's wage is $18.00 per hour in 2012.

The price of a magazine is $9.00 in 2012.

Suppose that the Fed sharply increases the money supply between 2012 and 2017. In 2017, Megan's wage has risen to $36.00 per hour. The price of a magazine is $18.00 and the price of a mandarin is $2.00.

In 2017, the relative price of a magazine is   .

Between 2012 and 2017, the nominal value of Megan's wage   , and the real value of her wage   .

Monetary neutrality is the proposition that a change in the money supply   nominal variables and   real variables.

In: Economics

Which case established the compelling interest standard in equal protection cases?

Which case established the compelling interest standard in equal protection cases?

In: Economics

Should taxpayer dollars be spent to rehabilitate drug users? If yes, why yes? If no, why...

Should taxpayer dollars be spent to rehabilitate drug users? If yes, why yes? If no, why no?

In: Economics

One advantage of having a market-clearing price for water in all uses is Select one: a....

One advantage of having a market-clearing price for water in all uses is

Select one:

a. water can be moved to areas where the price is the lowest

b. since prices anticipate the future, possible droughts will be reflected in today's prices encouraging water conservation now before the drought actually hits the supply

c. low income water users will have to pay more than high income users for water even without a drought

d. the rich can get all the water they want regardless of the price

The authors claim that some thinking about water is a myth. Their myth arguments do not include the statement that

Select one:

a. the planet is drying up

b. water is special and is different from other goods

c. there are ways to use ocean water for drinking or irrigation

d. we can save water by using less of it

How do price controls on water impact people?

Select one:

a. it reduces the amount supplied and makes the poor worse off

b. it avoids rationing schemes

c. it makes water less scarce

d. it makes water abundant for all users

What is meant by rent control?

Select one:

a. setting a rental rate below the market rate to make it more affordable

b. letting the rental rate change with market conditions

c. matching supply of housing to the demand for housing

d. paying rent every other month for two years

Which of the following is not an impact of rent control?

Select one:

a. maintenance of rent control housing is first-rate

b. there is a reduction in construction of new rental space

c. residents in rent control apartments prefer to stay in place even if the space is no longer suitable to them

d. the supply of rent control housing deteriorates

CBO data over the past few decades indicate that among the five income groups (low to high)

Select one:

a. all income groups have shown a rise in income over this period

b. low income groups have suffered a decline in income

c. middle income people have the highest rate of income growth over this period

d. low income people have the lowest rate of income

growth historically

With regard to income mobility, studies indicate that over ten years

Select one:

a. typically show that incomes fall with work experience from ages 25 to 55

b. about half of lowest income people rise to higher levels

c. over 90% of high income people stay at that level

d. it is not possible to "boot strap" from poor to richer in the American economy

Women who stop working after having children and eventually return to work,

Select one:

a. are smart enough to take jobs before they leave that allows them to come back to work at higher pay

b. are rewarded with better jobs at higher pay because of their sacrifice

c. often see their duties curtailed and make less money

d. easily return to the work they were doing at higher pay

Data show that women who work make 80 cents on the dollar that males make and this fact is indicative of

Select one:

a. this data is influenced by the fact that men work more hours than women

b. widespread discrimination against women equivalent to $.20 out of a dollar men earn

c. evidence that shows men completely understand the value of women in the worikplace

d. indicates a low level of education women attain so they are not as productive as men

It appears that women dentists make $.74 for every dollar a male dentist makes and it has been reported that women business owners make 50% of what male business owners make. How would an analyst explain these differences?

Select one:

a. Female patients and shoppers prefer male dentists and male-run businesses

b. Women prefer flexible hours so they can live a valued life outside of work

c. Women dentists devote more time to each patient thus reducing their income

d. Men are far more productive than women as studies show

In: Economics

What was the single most important reason for the decline in illegal immigration between 2007 and...

What was the single most important reason for the decline in illegal immigration between 2007 and 2009? What other factors were at play? Going forward, why might people think it is more likely that illegal immigration will fall rather than rise?

In: Economics

What are the advantages and disadvantages of globalization? The advantages and disadvantages of globalization can change...

What are the advantages and disadvantages of globalization?

The advantages and disadvantages of globalization can change depending on whether or not they are being evaluated from a social or economic perspective. From an economic standpoint, globalization has provided ample opportunity for a number of American businesses to grow exponentially. Globalization has also had a large impact on how businesses are structured by altering supply chains which has arguably led to greater efficiency as well as lowering the cost of manufacturing and the cost of goods. Globalization has also changed the fortune of workers across the world. The creation and/or reshoring of jobs globally has resulted in lifting a number of individuals out of poverty globally.  In the alternate, the recent pandemic has taught us that globalization is not without its flaws. Due to the shift in global supply chains, you can see how one country can have an outsized role in the production of crucial products such as medical supplies.

Provide a 300 word response to the above topic.

In: Economics

Assess the Impact of Globalisation What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Globalization has many...

Assess the Impact of Globalisation

  1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Globalization has many advantages and disadvantages to each type of globalization that exists. The most common when globalization is being discussed is economic globalization, which deals with the impact of globalization on countries economy. One advantage to economic globalization is increased competition. Increased competition is great for countries especially those that are newer to the global economy as it helps them to identify themselves in the economy and encourages aggressive growth. A second important advantage is the spread of technology and innovation that businesses are able to share with one another. This is a crucial component to the global economy as technology enables economies to be global in the first place. Without the correct infrastructure, technology and innovation, it is impossible for a country to remain connected to the global economy and other countries. A third advantage to economic globalization is the development of higher standards of living for society in countries that are on the rise for globalization. An example of this would be India where their economy has really taken off in the last 10-15 years. India has really made a mark in the global economy in the information technology sector. As a result, India has become a key player in the global economy, which has significantly helped improve their workforce, society, and products/services that it offers. One disadvantage that economic globalization offers is the contribution to cultural homogeneity or creating a monoculture. The thought is that if countries continue to adapt the same trends and global ideologies, there will be a loss of culture and identity for countries. While having similar views across the world can be a uniting function across different cultures, it can also contribute to the creation of a monoculture; which means less of a unique identity for countries in the global space. A second disadvantage of economic globalization is that large corporations gain more power. Think about a really large company like Google where they are in more than 50 countries throughout the world. Moreover, it’s parent company, Alphabet, is in more than 70 countries throughout the world.

Provide a 300 word response

In: Economics

Discuss with precision what economists mean by the term market failure and discuss some of the...

Discuss with precision what economists mean by the term market failure and discuss some of the major issues that our democracy faces. In your opinion, what could be done in (if you think changes need to be made) in order to make a government that is more responsive to the needs of the people?

In: Economics

Identify the type of economic system that is used in your chosen economy and then explain...

Identify the type of economic system that is used in your chosen economy and
then explain the main characteristics of the economic system.

In: Economics

Here is another article for you to discuss. It's a little challenging, so you'll need to...

Here is another article for you to discuss. It's a little challenging, so you'll need to read it carefully. Post your reactions to this thread. What do you think the author is arguing here? Does he make good arguments? Why or why not? And do you agree with him?

New York Times
July 23, 2006
Conspiracy Theories 101
By STANLEY FISH
Kevin Barrett, a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, has now taken his place alongside Ward Churchill of the University of Colorado as a college teacher whose views on 9/11 have led politicians and ordinary citizens to demand that he be fired.
Mr. Barrett, who has a one-semester contract to teach a course titled “Islam: Religion and Culture,” acknowledged on a radio talk show that he has shared with students his strong conviction that the destruction of the World Trade Center was an inside job perpetrated by the American government. The predictable uproar ensued, and the equally predictable battle lines were drawn between those who disagree about what the doctrine of academic freedom does and does not allow.
Mr. Barrett’s critics argue that academic freedom has limits and should not be invoked to justify the dissemination of lies and fantasies. Mr. Barrett’s supporters (most of whom are not partisans of his conspiracy theory) insist that it is the very point of an academic institution to entertain all points of view, however unpopular. (This was the position taken by the university’s provost, Patrick Farrell, when he ruled on July 10 that Mr. Barrett would be retained: “We cannot allow political pressure from critics of unpopular ideas to inhibit the free exchange of ideas.”)
Both sides get it wrong. The problem is that each assumes that academic freedom is about protecting the content of a professor’s speech; one side thinks that no content should be ruled out in advance; while the other would draw the line at propositions (like the denial of the Holocaust or the flatness of the world) considered by almost everyone to be crazy or dangerous.
But in fact, academic freedom has nothing to do with content. It is not a subset of the general freedom of Americans to say anything they like (so long as it is not an incitement to violence or is treasonous or libelous). Rather, academic freedom is the freedom of academics to study anything they like; the freedom, that is, to subject any body of material, however unpromising it might seem, to academic interrogation and analysis.
Academic freedom means that if I think that there may be an intellectual payoff to be had by turning an academic lens on material others consider trivial — golf tees, gourmet coffee, lingerie ads, convenience stores, street names, whatever — I should get a chance to try. If I manage to demonstrate to my peers and students that studying this material yields insights into matters of general intellectual interest, there is a new topic under the academic sun and a new subject for classroom discussion.
In short, whether something is an appropriate object of academic study is a matter not of its content — a crackpot theory may have had a history of influence that well rewards scholarly scrutiny — but of its availability to serious analysis. This point was missed by the author of a comment posted to the blog of a University of Wisconsin law professor, Ann Althouse: “When is the University of Wisconsin hiring a professor of astrology?” The question is obviously sarcastic; its intention is to equate the 9/11-inside-job theory with believing in the predictive power of astrology, and to imply that since the university wouldn’t think of hiring someone to teach the one, it should have known better than to hire someone to teach the other.
But the truth is that it would not be at all outlandish for a university to hire someone to teach astrology — not to profess astrology and recommend it as the basis of decision-making (shades of Nancy Reagan), but to teach the history of its very long career. There is, after all, a good argument for saying that Shakespeare, Chaucer and Dante, among others, cannot be fully understood unless one understands astrology.
The distinction I am making — between studying astrology and proselytizing for it — is crucial and can be generalized; it shows us where the line between the responsible and irresponsible practice of academic freedom should always be drawn. Any idea can be brought into the classroom if the point is to inquire into its structure, history, influence and so forth. But no idea belongs in the classroom if the point of introducing it is to recruit your students for the political agenda it may be thought to imply.
And this is where we come back to Mr. Barrett, who, in addition to being a college lecturer, is a member of a group calling itself Scholars for 9/11 Truth, an organization with the decidedly political agenda of persuading Americans that the Bush administration “not only permitted 9/11 to happen but may even have orchestrated these events.”
Is the fact of this group’s growing presence on the Internet a reason for studying it in a course on 9/11? Sure. Is the instructor who discusses the group’s arguments thereby endorsing them? Not at all. It is perfectly possible to teach a viewpoint without embracing it and urging it. But the moment a professor does embrace and urge it, academic study has ceased and been replaced by partisan advocacy. And that is a moment no college administration should allow to occur.
Provost Farrell doesn’t quite see it that way, because he is too hung up on questions of content and balance. He thinks that the important thing is to assure a diversity of views in the classroom, and so he is reassured when Mr. Barrett promises to surround his “unconventional” ideas and “personal opinions” with readings “representing a variety of viewpoints.”
But the number of viewpoints Mr. Barrett presents to his students is not the measure of his responsibility. There is, in fact, no academic requirement to include more than one view of an academic issue, although it is usually pedagogically useful to do so. The true requirement is that no matter how many (or few) views are presented to the students, they should be offered as objects of analysis rather than as candidates for allegiance.
There is a world of difference, for example, between surveying the pro and con arguments about the Iraq war, a perfectly appropriate academic assignment, and pressing students to come down on your side. Of course the instructor who presides over such a survey is likely to be a partisan of one position or the other — after all, who doesn’t have an opinion on the Iraq war? — but it is part of a teacher’s job to set personal conviction aside for the hour or two when a class is in session and allow the techniques and protocols of academic research full sway.
This restraint should not be too difficult to exercise. After all, we require and expect it of judges, referees and reporters. And while its exercise may not always be total, it is both important and possible to make the effort.
Thus the question Provost Farrell should put to Mr. Barrett is not “Do you hold these views?” (he can hold any views he likes) or “Do you proclaim them in public?” (he has that right no less that the rest of us) or even “Do you surround them with the views of others?”
Rather, the question should be: “Do you separate yourself from your partisan identity when you are in the employ of the citizens of Wisconsin and teach subject matter — whatever it is — rather than urge political action?” If the answer is yes, allowing Mr. Barrett to remain in the classroom is warranted. If the answer is no, (or if a yes answer is followed by classroom behavior that contradicts it) he should be shown the door. Not because he would be teaching the “wrong” things, but because he would have abandoned teaching for indoctrination.
The advantage of this way of thinking about the issue is that it outflanks the sloganeering and posturing both sides indulge in: on the one hand, faculty members who shout “academic freedom” and mean by it an instructor’s right to say or advocate anything at all with impunity; on the other hand, state legislators who shout “not on our dime” and mean by it that they can tell academics what ideas they can and cannot bring into the classroom.
All you have to do is remember that academic freedom is just that: the freedom to do an academic job without external interference. It is not the freedom to do other jobs, jobs you are neither trained for nor paid to perform. While there should be no restrictions on what can be taught — no list of interdicted ideas or topics — there should be an absolute restriction on appropriating the scene of teaching for partisan political ideals. Teachers who use the classroom to indoctrinate make the enterprise of higher education vulnerable to its critics and shortchange students in the guise of showing them the true way.
Stanley Fish is a law professor at Florida International University.

In: Economics

1. In an ideal competitive market,    a.   there are no depleteable goods.    b.   social...

1. In an ideal competitive market,
   a.   there are no depleteable goods.
   b.   social surplus is maximized.
   c.   excludable goods are minimized.
   d.   external benefits are maximized.

2. In an ideal competitive market,
   a.   there are no depleteable goods.
   b.   social surplus is maximized.
   c.   excludable goods are minimized.
   d.   external benefits are maximized.

3. Economists consider environmental pollution to be a(n)
   a.   public interest outcome.
   b.   allocatively efficient outcome.
   c.   externality.
   d.   pure public good.

4. The effectiveness of direct controls on pollution depends on: (i) the budgets and enthusiasm of the regulatory bodies; (ii) sufficiently strong statutory penalties.
   a.     ii but not i
   b.   i but not ii
   c.   neither i nor ii
   d.   i and ii

5. Which of the following events would increase the four-firm concentration ratio in a milk industry with six firms?
   a.   The largest milk producer lures customers away from the second largest producer.
   b.   The four largest milk producers collusively fix prices.
   c.   The largest milk producer buys an ice cream-making plant.
   d.   The two largest milk producers merge.

6. The federal government has the power to investigate and to try to block
   a.   only voluntary mergers between firms.
   b.   only hostile takeovers.
   c.   any combination of the ownership of previously independent firms that increases concentration.
   d.   only friendly takeovers.

In: Economics