May 17: Team Greed edges out Teams Exploitation and Fairness to capture Sowell Cup II

In a nail-biter finish to the 2010-2011 school year, Team Greed edged out their non-economic valued rivals in Econ Slam Down II. Team Greed Captain Marissa and her mates, Sarah and Santi, not only received the coveted Sowell Cup II trophy, they also won enough candy and sweeties to induce sugar shock for the balance of the summer.

Marissa, Santi and Sarah hoist the Sowell Cup

Team Fairness — led by Captain Joel, backed by Miranda, Ian and Jason — grabbed an early lead and held it until the final question of SDII. Yes, it was that close after 41 brain-bursting, skull-squishing questions.

Jason, Ian, Joel and Miranda look most concerned as the contest enters the critical final few questions.

Also in the mix the entire contest was Team Exploitation: Captain Mallory, Jose, Joseph and Adam.

Team Exploitation's Adam, Joseph, Mallory and Jose displaythe loose style that suited them well in SDII

The class was then entertained by Mallory, Marissa and Sarah with their stirring rendition of “I’m a Sowell Man.” The lyrics and insights encapsulated our year-long adventure in economics, as we delved into the teaching of the Great One, Dr. Thomas Sowell.

Our very own 'Sowell (wo)Men'!

Thanks for a thoroughly enjoyable year. I praise God that I had the chance to get to know each of you.

May 10: We honor our Perfect Attenders, roar through the last exam, and dig into Dr. S’s ‘final thoughts’

Week 33 was indeed eventful, as we successfully navigated our way through the penultimate Econ class. We began the day with an hour-long exam, testing knowledge of Special Economic Issues.

'A tasty reward for our Perfect Attenders'

We then honored the perfect attendance of Joseph, Santi and Sarah. Way to go team, amazing performance!! Naturally, this being economics, we laid out incentives for future classes by rewarding our intrepid trio with a giant bag of candy each. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Twix were quickly snatched up by our perfect attenders. We had at least three other students who missed the perfect mark by a single session.

And then it was onto our final review of Basic Economics in which we discussed Dr. S’s parting thoughts. No surprise, he closed the circle on his Preface and Chapter 1 comments that we studied in August 2010.

Long nights were the norm during our 33 week journey into Basic Economics

And guess what: it all comes down to how an economy allocates SRTHAU. Because of your hard work, you are now each prepared to analyze, on your own, promises made by politicians. You can read the Wall Street Journal and Barron’s with ease. You know how to determine whether there is any validity to statements about “fairness,” “exploitation,” or “greed.”

You know to look at the incentives policies create, rather than the goals they espouse. And you’ve built a solid base on which to predict what will result from things such as raising taxes or hiking the minimum wage. As a band of aging hippies used to sing: “We won’t get fooled again!”

Your are most worthy members, henceforth, in the Order of Sowellians.

Here’s the PowerPoint from today. Econ May 10 week 33 FINAL

May 3: We salute the SEALs, reveal our favorite brands and discuss NEVs

Today began with a discussion of the killing of OBL, murderer of numerous Americans, most notably during the 9/11 attacks. I made one mistake in my recounting of the raid on Osama’s compound in Pakistan: it actually began at midnight. The time I referenced was when officials were watching event live at the White House.

SEALs fight for our freedom in the water, from the air and on land

We saluted the SEALs, arguably the toughest warriors in the world. SEAL Team 6 pulled off the audacious attack on OBL, coming in by helo, sweeping each room in the huge building, neutralizing all threats, rendering OBL room temperature, and then escaping with no American casualties. The SEALs took away OBL’s body and numerous computers and storage devices, which are yielding a trove of intelligence.

Each Sowellian then shared some of their findings based on research for this week’s paper. We learned about adidas, Apple, Coca-Cola, Ulta, Urban Outfitters, Droid, Nike, Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A. We also learned that we can become very passionate about particular brands and how they meet our various needs.

Then it was off for a good discussion of NEVs, or non-economic values. Our vocab of “watch out” phrases (such as exploitation, fairness, unmet needs) continues to grow as we wind down our year-long investigation into the world of econ… courtesy of the great one, Dr. Thomas Sowell.

Be sure to study the materials for the final test of the course, which we will all enjoy on May 10.

Here’s the PPT from today: Econ May 3 Week 32 FINAL

Here’s Dr. S’s latest column, one that you will be entirely comfortable reading following your deep dive into econ.

April 26: Economic myths, a verdict on Bieber and bookin’ a night at the Ye Olde Mildew Hotel

After starting the day with a taut DPQ, the Econ sojourners today worked their way through a huge pile of economic myths. Along the way, we peeled back ever more layers of the free-market onion of Dr. S.

We discussed myths relating to the market, profits, prices, brands, non-profit organizations and dug deeper into the myth of “trickle down” economics of a few months ago. We also enjoyed sidebars into mercantilism and the truth about the various budget proposals being championed by President Obama and the Republicans led by Paul Ryan.

You will want to be fully conversant with all of the myths we went through… the better to ace the upcoming test. We now have just two chapters remaining in our year-long adventure into Basic Economics.

Have fun with the writing assignment on brands. Be sure to pick something that you’re passionate about, maybe a designer, sports team, restaurant chain, food item or car. This will be the last essay you write for this class, so show me what you’ve learned.

Here’s the PowerPoint from today. Econ April 26, Week 31 FINAL

'Justin Bieber's existence is a factual truth, but the concept is, of itself, undeniably false." Anonymous

April 19: A long test, what would happen if the average Sarasota fam behaved like the feds, and Miranda on imperialism

The econ sojourners started their day with a five-page exam covering international trade. Although only three weeks of material were included, all agreed that the test challenged them most severely. At least two of our intrepid economists fought off hand cramps, yet gamely finished their exam without medical assistance.

Miranda then completed our rounds of student teaching, addressing the class on imperialism. She offered the perspective that the word itself is a loaded, political term that frequently is deployed incorrectly. We continued to add to our vocabulary of “watch out” terms such as “living wage,” “unfair profits,” “price gouging” and “dumping.”

The federal debt: no laughing matter, as S&P warned this week

We then pondered the consequences of federal government spending. With the debt at nearly $14.3 trillion, Mrs. G said we now spend $1.6 billion a day in interest on that debt alone… with no end in sight. Please review the details in the attached PPT file, it would make an excellent test question, no?

Finally, we acknowledged that on this date in 1775, brave militia engaged the King’s army in a series of battles in Massachusetts. These battles were the first in the Revolutionary War and resulted in the formation of the freest and most prosperous nation the world has ever known.

From Lexington to Afghanistan, the U.S. has been protected by the finest soldiers, sailors and aviators the world has known.

We owe all of our armed forces — both past and those currently fighting for us in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other hot spots around the world — our eternal gratitude. They are heroes and we shall never forget.

Here’s the PPT from today, saved as a 2003 version so should open for all.Econ April 19, Week 30 FINAL

April 12: Students teach, teachers learn, expensive perfume and prep for next week’s exam

Today, each member of Team Econ (except for Miranda, who we’ll hear from next week) presented their research into assigned topics relating to international trade.

And it was a most impressive demonstration of both research and persuasive skills. Mrs. Pantera, who teaches speech, commented on how well the presenters took their complicated subjects and added Sowellian analysis. Plus, our guest speakers proved to be naturals on their feet… a good skill to have in life.

Tony Robbins has nothing on the Team Econ presenters (except for maybe the teeth)

We learned about the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, imperialism, foreign aid, a proposal to tax foreign bank deposits, and the pros and cons of immigration policy. Make sure you review your notes and the attached documents because you will be tested on some of the information we received today.

After the presentations and some lively back-and-forth, we then briefly reviewed Chapter 22 of Basic Economics. All agreed that this short chapter was a good summary of the section on International Trade.

And finally, we went through what you will need to know for the test next week. Be sure to look through today’s PowerPoint when you’re reviewing Chapters 20-22.

Econ April 12, Week 29 FINAL

Here are Santi’s notes: Santi Immigration Talk

Here are Ian’s: Ian’s IMF Presentation

Here are Marissa’s: Marissa’s Imperialism Notes

Here are Mallory’s: Mallory’s Notes

Here are Joseph’s: Joseph’s Notes

April 5: International transfers of wealth… and a storm trooper (imperial)

Can you name the six main ways that wealth moves between nations? All you have to do is remember this snappy saying: “I develop big refrigerators in France!” (Investments, Deposits, Bonds, Remittances, Imperialism, Foreign aid). Then again, you may prefer simple memorization.

Apple is one of the thousands of American companies building wealth here through its international sales.

As we approach the home stretch of Basic Economics, we are seeing the pieces all fall together. “Okay, so foreign deposits in U.S., of course prosperous people prefer to invest here rather than Botswana, are put to use through fractional reserve banking to generate wealth while the depositor gets safety and growth. This is not a zero sum game!”

We are also learning to see through the same loaded words — such as “trade deficits” and “saving jobs.” We are now on the alert for the truth when we hear politicians (and peers) discuss such controversial issues as foreign aid, free trade and protectionism.

Next week, each of you will have the chance to teach for five minutes. Please review your assignments carefully and practice, practice, practice.

Here’s the PowerPoint from today. Econ April 5 Week 27 FINAL

Here’s the link to the Wall Street Journal story about the growth in government jobs and its implications. I’ll also try to embed the story in the cover email in the event this story scoots behind the WSJ firewall.