Epilogue

This chapter describes everything I fear about our growing world. We are advancing so quickly that I worry what kind of world my kids or even grandkids will grow up in (not assuming I am going to have any kids), but it brings up an important question. How far are we willing to go? How advanced can we become before we start back at the beginning? I dont know that we even have limits anymore and I fear that. I liked that Wheelan ends the book by questioning the future. It ties in very much with what we have been talking about recently and it is definitely something that I think about frequently... something that nobody knows how to answer.

Epilogue

I know I have said this before, but I found this part oft he novel very interesting-honestly It may be my favorite. The big question of this section of the novel is 'what will the futu look like', and that portrays to me in a huge way. Why? Because I am part of the future. Decisions I make now can either help or hurt the economy in the future. The way our country has developed so quickly and efficiently bring the question to the surface of- when is it too much? Is there a limit? I'm pretty sure if you asked that to anyone at anytime they would say that there isn't a limit or if there is than its in the future. But if we keep up production like we have in the past years, than we may have issues in the future, or maybe not, maybe by then we would have thought of a new idea to help developing countries and give shelter to the homeless, etc. I don't know what the future will hold but with now having the knowledge from this book and the class, I know what to look for and maybe I can spot the changes in society along with the economists.

Epilogue

While reading the epilogue, I thought that it was my favorite part of the book. Indeed, it was but I forgot about the fact that if I haven't read the rest of the book I would have never understood the epilogue. Even though economics haven't been very easy for me, it is countless how much I have learned. 

My favorite part that stood out for me, even though, charles has been repeating it throughout the whole book was: "the decisions that we make now will affect how we live then". When we started the book, he has said that economist look for the long run, everything we do now affect the future. So we better do it right. Unfortunately, it is not simple like that, there are all the negative aspects that occur if we do something wrong or even right. The possibilities for future are endless. We don't know whether the gap between rich and poor will widthen or shrink, but now we know how to think and hopefully act economically, applying the things that we have learned. 

Terezka Šinkovicová 

Epilogue

I really want to see the countries of Africa step up out of poverty; I think (and, if I've learned this right, economics thinks) that everyone will benefit from new competition from and the stabilization of Africa. I hate to see an entire continent, more or less, impoverished and unstable when it does not need to be, will it be easy- no- will it be worth it, to see a more stable, wealthy and equal world- absolutely.

Epilogue

The "how many minutes of work will a loaf of break cost?" productivity questions struck me the most. I would have never guessed that in  2050 we would choose to work sixty  hours a week and live more rich. It also struct me that in 2050 our standard of living will be about 50 percent higher. I thought that we would have gotten lazy, but I was wrong.

Epilogue question 2

 Reading Naked Economics has proved to be more beneficial than I was expecting. Now that I have finished to book I feel like I am so much more aware of the world around me and the way that economics works. There was a sentence in the last paragraph of the epilogue that stuck out to me, " The remarkable thing about economics is that once you've been exposed to the big ideas, they begin to show up everywhere"(Wheelan 325). This statement is so true. After reading this book and taking this class I much more observant of the world around me. I am able to notice real life examples of the economic principals we have learned in class. All in all I am very happy I read this book and have found it insightful and beneficial.

Ostrem - Epilogue

I found the part about America's debt to be overwhelming and worrisome. "The United States is the world's largest debtor" (Wheelan 324). This is even more worrisome when we consider the increase expenses that will be needed in the future to pay for the large amount of aging Baby Boomer who will want Social Security and Medicare. We are headed for trouble and I don't think our government has taken many steps to solve this (though as we discussed in class, coming to a consensus in Washington is not always the easiest process). Our government likes to have a large government and spend a lot. Simon Johnson's quote was insightful when he talked about the dangers of overborrowing and how the U.S. government could be next in line for disaster.

Epilogue

The epilogue was about the what the future holds for economics. The entire chapter is relevant to people our age because that will be the future that we are working and living in. We will get the benefits of whatever good economic decisions are made, but we will also have to deal with new problems. The part of the epilogue that I thought was the most interesting was when Wheelan asked about how economics would've used to fix social problems. He talked about orphan drugs and about litter. We have to know what social problems will arise before we can try to offer a solution, but trying to fix these issues will soon be our responsibility.

Epilouge

What will our world look like in 2050? I've always thought of a world full of trash and no beauty left. But on page 321-2 Wheelan said that sometimes we put the beauty of the earth/restoration of historical artifacts over the money that should be spending. Even though I love strip malls, I'd prefer to have a nice outdoor market or more farmers markets around  town. I also really liked the quote "...life is about maximizing utility, not income" (Wheelan 321). This quote made me have a little bit of hope in humanity. I also liked on page 317 how he said that economics is just a set of rules that we can obey to help our life!

Epilogue

The way the epilogue was written is so fitting. Iv'e learned that economics greatly impacts our future - decision making, money flow, global trade ect. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the questions noted and the explanations beneath them. In fact, I myself have thought of some of the very questions addressed in the epilogue. How productive will we be in the future? How long will it really take to make a loaf of bread? And how much will it cost? Will we have government "hand outs"? What will work look like?What will wildlife look like? Will we come to our senses and take our surrounding species and habitats more seriously? With economics I am able to make adequate estimations about what will happen later on but only time will tell what the future really holds.

Epilogue- angulo

The end of this book just begs the question, "are we doing this the right way"? America is the best, but what does that mean? We're the most focused on work. We retire later. We have the least amount of leisure time. The GDP measures our efficiency but doesn't measure our happiness. The book mentions that in America, there are big winners and big losers and that in Countries like Sweden, the severity is much less extreme. So the question is, what's important to us? In all honesty, I believe that the core of economics has some sort of direct relation to philosophy. And I want to understand more about both.

Side note:
While reading this chapter I imagined me 10 years older and having to either choose an amazing painting done by Salvador Dali or choosing an identical painting done by a robot... I'd choose Dali because the painting has some kind of meaning to it... The robot was much more efficient though but it had no meaning.. Not sure what exactly I'm trying to say but that's that.

Epiloge - quinn malone

There were chapters I forgot to read and blog about the original date they were due, but all in all this was a good, very educational book. There were definitely some things Wheelan said in the book I may have disagreed or been indifferent about with regards to some topics and i think it would be difficult to find someone that agrees with every little bit of it. It exposed me to topics I had maybe been aware of but not entirely sure what they meant and it really opened my eyes on some things. Economics is very important and sometimes overlooked, and I am glad to say this book has now made me more aware. The book and along with this class and teacher specifically, have been great and I am thankful for it. Unfortunately it is only 1 semester long!

Epiloque - Dajanka

Even though I really enjoyed hearing about all of the questions Wheelan asks himself (mainly the one about strip malls) my favourite part about the epilogue was the very very end.
Before I came to Minnehaha Dávid Laco (as well as a lot of other students from C.S. Lewis) told me to definitely take philosophy or economics because both of them were supposed to be taught by a very good teacher. I was interested in philosophy before (Soren Kierkegaard <3 ), so I knew which one I wanted to take. Unfortunately, after I came here Mr. Dinardo told me that philosophy is a second semester course so I had no other option than taking economics. I was not particularly excited about it.
Surprisingly after first few lessons Wheelan's last words became an empiric truth for me. "Economics offers insight into wealth, poverty, gender relations, the environment, discrimination,politics...How could that possibly not be interesting?"
I became super excited about economics. I never expected how closely all the topics that economics covers relate to my everyday life and how economics really shows up everywhere.
Not only have I learned a lot of truly interesting stuff studying economics   also uncovered a lot of false truths that I believed previously and forced me to reevaluate several of my previous opinions.
Dávid Laco was right. It is not only about economics it is also about the teacher. The book ended and the corse is ending soon too so I thought it was the right time to really thank you for all of your extremely interesting lectures and entertaining classes. Thank you.
Lastly, thank you Charles Wheelan for writing extremely educational book explaining complicated concepts using very intriguing language.
Thank you.

I guess I've never really thought about anyone losing in trade. It makes sense though, for usually people will act in their self interest to get what they want, so if they get the same labor done for a cheaper price, who wouldn't do it? It's like buying clothes. If you can get the same Nike jacket from Macy's that they have in the nike store for a cheaper price, then you have more money to do whatever. Let's just hope the people being laid off have more capital to build on.

Chapter 12 question 2

I found chapter 12 , trade and globalization very interesting and relevant. Throughout the whole chapter Wheelan is talking about how international trade and globalization are essential for economic growth. I knew that this was true, however I had never thought about this concept on a smaller scale. "In short, we would be poorer because we would be collectively less productive. This is why economics favors not just trade across the Mississippi, but across the Atlantic and Pacific"(Wheelan 279).  I had never thought about what life would be like if trade was prohibited across the Mississippi. As it turns out forbidding trade across the Mississippi would negatively affect our country in many ways. Not only would our economy be hurt but also skilled workers on both sides would have to stop doing what they are good at in order to compensate for goods and services they previously got form the opposite side.

Chapter 13

What I thought was very significant was the idea of the "brain drain". If I'm a heart surgeon, I can't find good (or perhaps any) work in Kenya, nobody can pay for it, so I go elsewhere; if I am an economist living in the Sudan, I leave as soon as possible; there is no government, business or group that would higher me, and I have been specifically taught to look for what is in my rational self interest, I am not staying in Sudan, even if I could help millions of people to escape poverty, there is just no way.

Chapter that is number 12

Prior to learning about globalisation, I had no idea how flawed the idea of trying to avoid imported good in order to support our own economy. I didn't know that when you trade everybody wins. Somebody who might not have had a job that paid as well is making money growing or making something that will be sold over seas to somebody who will pay money to enjoy it. The pricing of imported versus locally grown will only create business competition and move more money around. In avoiding trade, developed countries would be doing a major disservice to most of the world's third world nations.

Ch 12

After watching the story behind the t-shirt and then reading this chapter, I completely changed my views on globalization. My views changed especially when realizing that we as Americans can help people from other countries grow. I also think it's interesting when looking at those pictures from Bangladesh in modern day as opposed to those in 1900's American factories. It is interesting to think that they are just further behind and that by American investment in foreign markets we can actually advance these countries. My mom's friend started her own business selling reusable bags. I remember her saying that she wanted to have her bags made in the USA so that she wouldn't take advantage of poorer countries. I thought it was very inspiring for her to take a stand, but now I realize that it may not have been such a bad thing. These countries need our business, and if people aren't going to donate or do something they might as well support them by buying their goods and services.

Chapter 13

The Chapter Touches on Women's roles in economy as being relevant, but it should also be noted that social roles, and human rights often in today's world (specifically in the middle east) also intertwine with resource availability and in some countries, there is an inverse relationship between theoretical "Social Progress" (Rights of women, rights of minorities, theocracy, etc.) and Resources Available. The resource I'm alluding to of course is Oil. The profits that many nations, (Most notably Saudi Arabia) Make off of oil allows the governments to insulate themselves, not take taxes, and thus give the people significantly less power and/or freedoms in their countries.

Chapter 12 Nate Angulo

I have always deemed globalization as unreasonable because of sweatshops and losing American jobs and the more I learn about economics the more it stresses me out. Chapter 12 establishes how trade makes creative destruction inevitable for America. But it's a good thing? It sounds wrong but in reality it forcefully progresses the growth of our economy while simultaneously helping countries in need. But what about the low wages in sweatshops? Well the wages are low because they're jobs can most likely be compromised by technology and there aren't many better job opportunities. So my thoughts on globalization have changed and my questions answered but it also stresses me out. We are, in a sense, other countries care givers. We're spoon feeding they're economies and, in some pathological thinking, I feel as though we are responsible for they're potential greatness or/and failure.