Ch9

• Do the issues affect your life? Directly or indirectly? On a daily basis, or more generally? Now or in the future?

The Issues in this chapter are related to my life in many ways. I really enjoyed reading this chapter, as well as connecting the examples to my own life. My Grandma loves telling me about when she and her friends went to the candy store and bought candy bars by the nickel. I always get upset when I think about this, and immediately feel negatively about the economy afterwards. But why? I guess I never considered that as times change, the value of the dollar is greatly determined on the government's ideology behind spending. Just because a candy bar costs 99 cents these days, doesn't mean we are always paying more than we did in the 1900's. As people make more money, they spend more, and since tons of people compete daily in the work field, it becomes a greater challenge to achieve a high income. I could be bitter about the prices back when I wasn't around, but then I remember that my grandma only made 50 cents for babysitting 3 children all day and night, and it doesn't seem all that bad. Another great point brought up in this chapter was about the social security problem and the number of elderly people we are supporting. This topic is always a tricky one to consider but definitely like the points that Wheelan brought up looking at it from an economic standpoint.