Current Events (Thanksgiving):
This is one interpretation of the Pilgrims and their efforts at the first Thanksgiving. The Plymouth Colony was established as a communal society. No one had an incentive to work, so disease and famine forced the pilgrims to adopt liberty and capitalism.
Nickel and Diming-Travel Thanksgiving 2009
Thanksgiving Travel Even as Americans get away for Thanksgiving, they can't escape the mindset of a troubled economy. The AP's Mark Hamrick reports. (Nov. 24)
Holiday airline travel expected to take a dip
Meier's Meat
Billy Crystal and Bobbie DeNiro
Cartoon Turkey
Do the Turkey!
TURKEY & BUTTER THANKSGIVING 1956
WTVJ Thanksgiving Friday 1984 News Report from the local malls (1:57)
This clip shows what Black Friday was like 25 years ago from the Burdines at Dadeland Mall in Miami. We've also had some crazes of must-haves over the years (Tickle-me-Elmos in 1996 for example); as you'll see in 1984, it was Cabbage Patch Dolls that had people going nuts at the old Jefferson Ward near and across the street from the now more-or-less defunct 163 Street Mall in North Miami Beach.
Chapter 5 Elasticity
The concept of elasticity is thoroughly covered in this chapter, from the definition, to the calculation, and finally to the application. Price elasticity of demand is covered first, followed by income and price elasticities. The price elasticity of supply is covered, and the chapter concludes with an analysis of tax burdens based on differences in the price elasticities of demand and supply.
We can re-assemble in our small groups to discuss and answer.
If you join Dabbleboard (Cf. http://www.dabbleboard.com/); you can draw your graphs online instead of on the board. You can share graphs and chat online as well as use Dabbleboard for your Small Group collaborations.
Post any questions on the content now that we reviewed the material:
Ch. 5 True/False Review; likewise, if you have questions, add them to Shanawiki and we can address them.
We were on #2 on the Ch. 5 Short Answer Review questions.
Ch. 5 Objective Review
We can also consider Hubbert's Peak
Hubbert’s Peak: Are We Running Out of Oil?
In the mid-1950s, Marion King Hubbert (a geophysicist who worked at Shell
Research Labs) created a model of known reserves of U.S. oil and predicted that production in the United States would peak in the early 1970s. The model suggests
that production will peak again in the next decade.
While there are many reasons to believe that oil prices will continue to be high in
the future, the analysis of markets and of elasticity suggests that we are unlikely to run out of oil for a long time, if ever. According to the estimates provided in the text, while the short-term elasticity of demand for gasoline is roughly 0.2, the long-term elasticity is about 0.7. Given more time there can be greater adjustment to higher oil prices, including finding substitutes.
We are working towards the Test, Ch. 5 Multiple choice; and, we can begin Chapter 6.
Chapter 6 Overview Consumer Choice and Demand
The analysis of consumer choice in this chapter begins with the consideration of the
budget line. Total and marginal utility are then introduced and discussed, and an
incremental process is detailed through which a hypothetical consumer (and the
students) can see the utility-maximizing combination of two goods. The derivation
of the demand curve is then presented and the chapter concludes with a discussion
of consumer surplus. For instructors who wish to use indifference curves in the
analysis of consumer optimization, a detailed appendix is provided.
HW: gmsmith@shanahan.org
1. Enjoy the break; eat turkey.
