Field Trip

Yesterday, my economics class took a trip downtown to the Chicago Board of Trade and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. I would recommend this trip to anyone interested in economics as a lot of interesting information was shared. At the Board of Trade we were able to see traders on the floor making deals and using hand signals. It was really entertaining and the tour guide taught us a lot about how everything works. At the bank, we were fortunate enough to learn about Bitcoin and saw some cool money displays at the museum section of the bank. Overall, a lot was learned about trading and money, and my knowledge of economics was enhanced.

Expansionary AND Contractionary Policy

I've always been a believer in the cliché saying, "you learn something new everyday", and monetary policies are one of those new things. I always knew of the expansionary policies, and trying to get more money into the economy, and that's probably because I've only been capable of understanding economics during a recession. Recently, in my economics class, I was introduced to the contractionary policy. I never really understood why the government would want to slow growth of the economy, but now I know there is such thing as too much growth too quickly. This is where the contractionary policy comes into play; it reduces inflation, stabilizing prices.

Opportunity Cost: Still Around!

This past weekend was Thanksgiving weekend, one of which is full of opportunity costs. Black Friday is a huge example. An opportunity cost is a given up benefit from a passed alternative. So, on Black Friday, people across America had to decide whether to leave the comfort of their own homes and take away time from their family to try and score some deals at some stores or not. Many found the deals more appealing since they'd need to buy the items anyways, and they'd be saving a lot of money, but their opportunity cost for this experience would be lost time with family and friends during a holiday weekend. What did you choose?