The Economizers

   I am a risk-averse. Are you? Now look at it this way, we all have cars and we all must have insurance on these cars. Why should we pay so much a year if we dont even get in an accident? I dont like this, if you think about it, say you pay seven thousand dollars for your car and then pay one thousand a year in insurance. Also what if you dont get in an accident for twenty years? All that money you spent is wasted and in time costs more then the car and when you do get in an accident you dont get nearly back as much as you payed. We pay a premium to reduce financial troubles if something should happen but in the long run we are just spending more money we dont and should have to.

 

Nicole Shearer

    The question everyone in the college sports world is asking is should athletes get paid for their services.  Which many people would have to say they already do.  They are definitely given a lot more benefits than the average college kid.  Meals all the and so-called easy classes.  But lets look at this in an economic way.  The rate of return for a college is huge when it comes to athletes.  Giving away scholarships that only hurt the university by the thousands of dollars could net the university millions.  If you think about it athletes are the greatest investment a college could make.  The problem is though that the demand curve for athletes is very high and the supply is very low.  A university has to come up with some creative ways to lure an athlete since they are "amatures".  If schools could pay their athletes money that they righfully deserve it would not shange the curve much but it is the right thing to do I think.

By
Corey Pichler

Recently I had just won some money for winning a March Madness pool I had entered myself in.  This meant only one thing and that was this money was going to burn a hole in my pocket.  As soon as I recieved the money I took a trip to the mall because I wanted to buy some clothes for the summer.  Normally I would walk around the mall and check out different things before going ahead and buying something, but since I had a decent amount of money I bought things without checking out other prices.  I usually wouldn't buy a shirt that cost over $30, but I found myself buying shirts that cost $50-$60.  Even most of the time I would check for sales, but I decided not to since money wasn't an issue for me at this point in time.  So it's safe to say my opportunity cost increased and normally when I would give myself a limit on what to spend, I found my price ceiling had vanished.  It's not always a good thing to win money in bunches because you find yourself buying things you don't really need and paying way too much for them too.

Chris Morrell

To professional athletes, age is an important factor in their career.  As professional athletes get older they are of decreasing marginal utility to their respective teams.  The older an athlete gets in his career, the harder it is to get a contract or get as much money as they used to make when they were in their prime.  As you get older you are not able to run, jump or throw the way you used to.  Professional teams are looking for a young superstar to turn their organization around and there is not much call for an older athlete who is past his prime.

Matt Cross

    Recently my dad called and told me that I could no longer be on his car insurance since I was too high of a risk and therefore cost too much.  Apparently I am a risk taker.  I have had two speeding tickets wtihin the last three years.  When I got them I thought the the only cost to me would be points on my license and a fine.  However, I did not look at the big picture and the total oppurtunity cost of speeding as opposed to going the speed limit.  I did not properly weigh the benefits and consequences of  speeding therefor I was an irrational criminal.  Not only that but now I am going to have to pay a lot of money for my own insurance now just to drive.  Now I will have to get just liability insurance and hope I don't hurt my car.  This now affects my whole lifestyle, since I have an extra bill to pay I won't get enough  utility out of my money.  The total cost of speeding was a lot more than I anticipated.

By Corey Pichler

The underground economy, or black market, is comprised of the buying and selling of stolen goods, drugs, bootlegged videos and other various criminal activities.  When these transactions are made, the seller is able to charge any amount of money they want usually under the new store price.  The reason someone will sell the good for less is because if it wasn't less the buyer could go get it in the store.  Another reason the price is usually under actual value is because it is stolen and the seller is making a total profit from the transaction.

Matt Cross

   I know that I want a new car, right now! I have a 93 Saturn and I hate it. It has broken down on me and I dont like getting into it for the simple reason is I dont know when it will break down again. I travel a lot and I need a good car. Banks and car dealers know this. Especailly, when you want it now rather than later, that is referred to as positive time preference. When you want that brand new car now and you dont want to wait til you have the money for it, what are you willing to do? Yep, borrow the funds for it. This is how banks and car dealers get you for years. So dont be a person that is positive time preference, wait and save that money.

 

 

Nicole Shearer

 

We all would be safe to say that none of us ever want to have to deal with poverty, but unfortunately that's not the case.  It is said that 40 million people in the United States are considered to be in poverty and from looking over at the class notes, in some states it doesn't seem to be that bad.  Poverty is defined when an urban family of four is living on somewhere around $17,000 a year.  Now as I looked over more of the notes I saw that in Connecticut a family who was on welfare was getting somewhere around $29,600 a year.  Then I looked at Maryland and that was $30,500, and then Arkansas was $32,200 and finally Hawaii was $36,400.  I began to think over in my head, since I am majoring in education, why don't I just drop out of college, move to Hawaii and try to get welfare because this is probably somewhere around what starting salary would be for me and here in Hawaii you have people who don't have to do anything to recieve this money.  Seems kind of unfair to me, but I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Chris Morrell

    Right now in college I am in a positive time preference.  I am borrowing money to go to school.  But I got to wondering if I am going to make enough money once I am out of school to satisfy my want of utilities.  I thought about playing the lottery and hope I  could win something.  However, after class on thursday I decided to nix that idea.  I mean I am a risk lover but not that much.  So, I am thinking about investing. I was thinking about investing in a mutual fund or just investing myself.  I think a mutual fund would be best but they don't beat the market on average.  Recently a friend of mine offered me a business oppurtunity in an internet sales company.  I would own my own liitle franchise and all I would have to do is invest  in the company by buying their goods and invest a little time and effort  convincing people to also buy form this online company.  It has a very low oppurtunity cost and is rixk adverse which I think is a better way to go than risk lover.  The stock market is too fickle for me so owning a business part time along with a regular job is the best way I think I could maximize my income  

By Corey Pichler