30 September Class

We discussed whether the Olympics should be in Chicago in 2016; and the Post Office losing money and still paying workers to do nothing (thanks to Union Rules)

We spent most of the class discussing Health Care Reform:
Medicare/Medicaid (i.e. the govt) pays the least for services;
Insurance companies pay the middle amount;
Uninsured individuals pay the most.

What reforms could we consider without increasing the size/cost of Govt:
Mandating that individuals pay the same as insurance companies, not more
Allow insurance companies to compete across state lines
Give tax breaks to individuals buying insurance (not just employers)

Mixed feelings on this requirement:
Requiring companies to cover Pre-Existing Conditions.

Class -- September 23

We mostly discussed the role of Price in driving Demand;
"price gouging" during times of peril, and the co-importance of Price, Demand, and Supply.

We looked at various government interferences with the above, including rent ceilings, minimum wage, and Cash for Clunkers.

We also discussed "unintended consequences" when the Government intervenes. We should ask: (1) Is this the proper role of government? (2) Can we afford it?

16 Sept Class

In the morning, during Government Club we had discussed the March/Rally in D.C. last weekend. We continued the discussion of that into Economics class -- looking at the Economic reasons for the March. (The Rally was described as the largest gathering of Fiscal Conservtives ever!)

We connected it to Economics through:
Money/taxes
Bailouts/Stiumuls
Health Care

We also discussed Cap and Trade briefly. (We will cover that more in depth later.)

1st Class Notes

We discussed "Cash for Clunkers" -- I had a post from Newt Gingrich which said the 1st 250,000 cars (the planned amount) sold in 4 days.

This plan was supposed to make us "greener"; it increased the sale of new cars (at least briefly).

Much of our class was spent discussing the House Health Care bill. It is being claimed by its proponents that it will be "budget neutral". But it will increase taxes, increase government spending (up to 1 Trillion dollars over 10 years), and definitely lead to rationing. And regardless of what they claim, the Government doesn't compete on a level playing field.

We also passed out Gingrich's "Grading the Big Speech: A 10-point Citizens' Cheecklist on Health Reform" for students to use if they watched Wednesday evening's Health Care talk by the President (to a Joint Session of Congress).

November classes

Just a heads up, there will not be any Wednesday classes during the month of November. (We will be holding Mock Trial Scrimmages during the 1st 2 Wednesdays of November instead...More information later on those in case you want to watch those.)