Sunday, March 13, 2011

Honors Business Economics: 14 March 2011

Prayer
Beyond the Sound Bites (after the Test if time):

The Chapter 7 Test is today.

Clear your desk except for a pencil. Once everyone is quiet, and no talking during the Test, we can begin. Be sure to put your name on the Test.

You may write on the Test itself.

If you finish early, you may take out non-class materials; once everyone is finished, put away the non-class materials. Then, I will collect the Test.

Be sure your name is on the Test.

If your name is not on the Test it will not be returned.


The
Chapter 7 Section 3 Quiz Make-up is today.

The Chapter 7 Test is today.

The Chapter 7 Section 1 Quiz Make-up is today.

The Chapter 7 Section 2 Make-up Quiz is today.


Study prep, Chapter 7: Market Structures Self-check Quiz

The Chapter 6 Test Make-up is today.

After the Test:

Chris Wragge talks to Jill Schlesinger, editor-at-large for CBS Moneywatch.com about how Japan's 8.9 earthquake could affect the world economy.

Cf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL6WZCPVXho

The Ch. 6 Sec. 3 Quiz Make-up is today.

The Ch. 6 Sec. 2 Quiz Make-up is today.

Standard feature:

The electronic edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer is available. We have the Sunday edition, available on Mondays, in addition to the Tuesday through Friday editions on the other days.

Please follow the steps below:

URL: http://nie.philly.com
Click on the words "Access e-Inquirer" located on the gray toolbar underneath the green locker on the opening page.
Login:
Username: bshsinky@shanahan.org
Password: 10888

Chapter 8 - The American Labor Force

Case Study Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson economics, 6:11
When were the first Harleys sold?
When was Suzuki founded?
What else do these companies sell?
How do both companies utilize vertical integration?
How is HD also a horizontal integrator?
How is Suzuki also a horizontal integrator?
Has the demand for both companies declined after the recession?
Is HD a luxury item?
Did Suzuki lower its price following the recession?
Are products from both companies elastic?
How do purchases change in a recession?



Section 3: Employment Trends and Issues

There are several trends and issues in today's economy. The first is the continuing decline of union membership and influence since the end of World War II. The second is the income gap between men and women, and policies such as set-aside contracts, which are designed to remedy it. The last is the issue of the minimum wage, which is measured in current dollars, inflation-adjusted dollars, and as a percent of the average manufacturing wage.


Section Preview

Content Vocabulary

giveback

two-tier wage system

glass ceiling

set-aside contract

minimum wage

current dollars

constant dollars

real dollars

base year

Chapter 8, Section 3 - Reading Strategy

In-class assignment: with a partner, fill in the graphic organizer.

Explain why women face an income gap.



Cf. http://glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/socialstudies/igo_08/epp/ch_08/EPP_ch08_sec3_1.pdf

Issues in the News

Foreign Exchange at Minimum Wage

Decline of Union Influence

Lower Pay for Women

The Minimum Wage

In-class assignment: answer the questions about the Minimum Wage.

What does Panel A show?

What does Panel B show?

What does Panel C show?

In Panel A does the minimum wage appear to rise?

How does Panel B modify this view?

In what year did the dollar have the most purchasing power?

In 1968, what was the difference between the minimum wage and the average manufacturing wage?

Figure 8.9 The Minimum Wage, p. 220

Cf. http://glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/socialstudies/in_motion_08/epp/EPP_p220.swf


Business Week News clip

Twilight of the UAW

Chapter 8, Section 3 - Review

In-class assignment: with a partner, fill in the graphic organizer.

List three ways firms renegotiate union contracts.


Cf. http://glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/socialstudies/igo_08/epp/ch_08/EPP_ch08_sec3_2.pdf
Off shoring American Jobs to India

Preview

Chapter 9 Sources of Government Revenue

Student Web Activity

"Understanding Individual Income Taxes"

Cf. http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078747643/student_view0/unit3/chapter9/student_web_activities.html

Introduction
As you have already learned, the individual income tax is a tax on people's earnings. The tax laws should be written so that both the taxpayer and the tax collector can understand them. This task is not always easy, but people seem more willing to accept the necessity for taxes when they understand them. The purpose of this activity is to examine the taxes that are taken from your income.

Destination Title: Internal Revenue Service

Note: Clicking on the link above will launch a new browser window.
Need help using your browser for this activity? Click here for tips.

Directions
Read the article What is Taxed and Why. Print a copy of the page or read the information and answer the following questions. Answer the questions below.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select information for one of the jobs listed.
Print a copy of the page or read the information on screen and answer the following questions.


1. Who benefits from withholding taxes? How?

2. What is tax liability?

3. What is the difference between vertical and horizontal equity?

4. What is a tax deduction? Give examples.

5. Create a list of tax deductions and tax credits that your family may use on your next tax form.

Section 1 The Economics of Taxation

Taxes and other governmental revenues influence the economy by affecting resource allocation, consumer behavior, and the nation’s productivity and growth. The three criteria used to determine if a tax is effective are equity, simplicity, and efficiency. Furthermore, the benefit principle of taxation and the ability-to-pay principle of taxation are used to help decide the group or groups that should bear the burden of the tax. Finally, taxes can be proportional, progressive, and regressive, depending on the way the average tax per dollar changes as taxable income changes.

Content Vocabulary

sin tax

incidence of a tax

tax loophole

individual income tax

sales tax

tax return

benefit principle of taxation

ability-to-pay principle of taxation

proportional tax

average tax rate

Medicare

progressive tax

marginal tax rate

regressive tax

Reading Strategy
In-class assignment: with a partner, complete the graphic organizer by listing the criteria for taxes to be effective. Then define each of the criteria in your own words.

People in the New

Teenage Tax Preparers

Economic Impact of Taxes

Shifting the Incidence of a Tax, p. 231

In Motion

In-class assignment


With a partner, answer the questions.


What does Panel A show?
What does Panel B show?
What is the difference of absorbing a price increase between an elastic, and an inelastic demand? 


Cf. http://glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/socialstudies/in_motion_08/epp/EPP_p231.swf



Criteria for Effective Taxes

Two Principles of Taxation

Three Types of Taxes

Chapter 9 Section 1 Review

In-class assignment: with a partner, use the graphic organizer to describe the economic impact of taxes.



Entrepreneur

Profiles in Economics

Monica Garcia Pleiman

Section 2 Federal, State, and Local Revenue Systems

There are four main sources of federal government revenues. The first is the individual income tax, a progressive tax administered through a payroll withholding system. The second largest component is FICA, which is levied on employers and employees equally to pay for Social Security and Medicare. The third is borrowing by the federal government. The corporate income tax is the fourth largest source. The excise tax—a tax on the manufacture or sale of selected items such as gasoline and liquor—is the fifth-largest source of federal government revenue. Other sources of federal revenue include estate taxes, gift taxes, customs duties, and user fees. State governments receive revenues in the form of sales taxes, intergovernmental revenues, individual income taxes, and employee retirement contributions. Local governments receive funds from state and federal governments, property taxes, utility and liquor stores, sales taxes, and other sources.

Content Vocabulary

Reading Strategy
In-class assignment: with a partner, complete the graphic organizer to identify and describe the revenue sources for federal, state, and local governments.



State and Local Government Revenue Sources, p. 242

In Motion
In-class assignment

Cf. http://glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/socialstudies/in_motion_08/epp/EPP_p242.swf

Case Study

Dreaded Tax Returns


Chapter 9 Section 2 Review

In-class assignment: with a partner, use a graphic organizer to list the federal government's major revenue sources.






Section 3 Current Tax Issues and Reforms

Major tax revision bills have been passed since 1980. The first reduced the progressiveness of the individual income tax and the second made it more proportional. The third, passed in 1993, made it more progressive again. The fourth, passed in 1997, provided wealthy individuals with significant tax relief for long-term investments, and provided modest tax relief for child and educational expenses. The fifth in 2001 focused on reducing the top four marginal tax brackets by significant percentages by 2006. Due to slow economic growth in 2002, the 2001 tax reform was accelerated.

Content Vocabulary

Reading Strategy
In-class assignment: with a partner, complete a graphic organizer by listing the advantages and disadvantages of the flat tax. Include a definition of flat tax in your own words.




Business Week News Clip

Europe Circles the Flat Tax
Sec. 3 Review

In-class assignment: with a partner, use a graphic organizer to list the advantages and disadvantages of the value-added tax.

Chapter 9 Resources

Chapter 9: Sources of Government Revenue
Multiple Choice Quiz


Cf. http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078747643/student_view0/unit3/chapter9/self-check_quizzes.html

Ch. 9 Crossword Puzzle

Chapter 9 Flashcards



Test Prep resources

Chapter 8 Crossword Puzzle

Cf. http://www.glencoe.com/olc_games/game_engine/content/gln_ss/epp_08/ch08/index.html

Vocabulary Flashcard

Cf. http://www.glencoe.com/qe/efcsec.php?qi=15443

Self-check Quiz

Cf. http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078747643/student_view0/unit3/chapter8/self-check_quizzes.html

Chapters 8-11

Cf. http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078747643/student_view0/unit3/



Deadline for Action: Labor Unions & Corporate Influence on the U.S. Congress (1/3) (1946), 10:08



John Llewellyn Lewis (1880--1969) was the autocratic president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) from 1920 to 1960, and the driving force behind the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Using UMW organizers the new CIO established the United Steel Workers of America (USWA) and organized millions of other industrial workers in the 1930s. A powerful speaker and strategist, Lewis did not hesitate to shut down coal production—the nation's main energy and heating source—to achieve his goals.

Lewis threw his support behind Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) at the outset of the New Deal. After the passage of the Wagner Act in 1935, Lewis traded on the tremendous appeal that Roosevelt had with workers in those days, sending organizers into the coal fields to tell workers that "The President wants you to join the Union." His UMW was one of FDR's main financial supporters in 1936, contributing over $500,000.

Lewis expanded his base by organizing the so-called "captive mines," those held by the steel producers such as U.S. Steel. That required in turn organizing the steel industry, which had defeated union organizing drives in 1892 and 1919 and which had resisted all organizing efforts since then fiercely. The task of organizing steelworkers, on the other hand, put Lewis at odds with the AFL, which looked down on both industrial workers and the industrial unions that represented all workers in a particular industry, rather than just those in a particular skilled trade or craft.

Lewis was the first president of the Committee of Industrial Organizations. Lewis, in fact, was the CIO: his UMWA provided the great bulk of the financial resources that the CIO poured into organizing drives by the United Automobile Workers (UAW), the USWA, the Textile Workers Union and other newly formed or struggling unions. Lewis hired back many of the people he had exiled from the UMWA in the 1920s to lead the CIO and placed his protégé Philip Murray at the head of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee. Lewis played the leading role in the negotiations that led to the successful conclusion of the Flint sit-down strike conducted by the UAW in 1936-1937 and in the Chrysler sit-down strike that followed.

The CIO's actual membership (as opposed to publicity figures) was 2,850,000 for February 1942. This included 537,000 members of the UAW, just under 500,000 Steel Workers, almost 300,000 members of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, about 180,000 Electrical Workers, and about 100,000 Rubber Workers. The CIO also included 550,000 members of the United Mine Workers, which did not formally withdraw from the CIO until later in the year. The remaining membership of 700,000 was scattered among thirty-odd smaller unions. (Galenson, p. 585)

The war mobilization dramatically expanded union membership, from 8.7 million in 1940 to over 14.3 million in 1945, about 36% of the work force. For the first time large numbers of women factory workers were enrolled. Both the AFL and CIO supported Roosevelt in 1940 and 1944, with 75% or more of their votes, millions of dollars, and tens of thousands of precinct workers. However, Lewis opposed Roosevelt on foreign policy grounds in 1940. He took the Mine Workers out of the CIO and rejoined the AFL. All labor unions strongly supported the war effort after June 1941 (when Germany invaded the Soviet Union). Left-wing activists crushed wildcat strikes. Nonetheless, Lewis realized that he had enormous leverage. In 1943, the middle of the war, when the rest of labor was observing a policy against strikes, Lewis led the miners out on a twelve-day strike for higher wages; the depth of public dismay—even hatred—of Lewis was palpable. In November 1943 the Fortune poll asked, "Are there any prominent individuals in this country who you feel might be harmful to the future of the country unless they are curbed?" 36% spontaneously named Lewis. (Next came 3% who named Roosevelt.) As a result the Conservative coalition in Congress was able to pass anti-union legislation, leading to the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.

American Free Enterprise System: Your Town - A Story of America (1940), 10:57



Easy Rider, 2:47

Cf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIfUD70yvz8

Email (or hand in hard copy) to gmsmith@shanahan.org.

Monday HW
1. p. 224, #29-31
Tuesday HW
1. p. 224, #32-34
Wednesday HW
1. p. 224-225, #35-37
Thursday HW
1. p. 225, #38-40
Friday HW
1. p. 231, Reading Check

Honors World History II, HW the Week of 14 March

Monday HW
1. p. 499, Preview Questions
2. p. 500, #1
Tuesday HW
1. p. 502, #6-8
Wednesday HW
1. p. 502, #9
2. p. 503, Preview Questions
Thursday HW
1. Connecting to the Past, #1-2
2. p. 506, Then and Now
Friday HW
1. p. 507, Geography Skills

Honors Business Economics HW for the week of 14 March

Monday HW
1. p. 224, #29-31
Tuesday HW
1. p. 224, #32-34
Wednesday HW
1. p. 224-225, #35-37
Thursday HW
1. p. 225, #38-40
Friday HW
1. p. 231, Reading Check