Lower Gas Prices: The Good, the Bad, and the Excess

The Good: Lower Gas Prices Yield Uneven Benefits

1. Lower gas prices are changing  consumer behavior. What are two major ways consumers are using the money saved on lower gasoline prices?

2. Looking at the "Gas Tanked" graphic, which seems to have benefited the most?

3. What major industry has suffered major losses?

The Bad: Less Interest in Fuel Economy

1. What economic principal is illustrated in this article about lower gas prices and fuel economy?

2. What information about Google searches illustrates this point? Explain.

3. What has happened to the purchase of fuel efficient cars in the last year?

4. What has happened to the purchase of less fuel efficient full-sized pickups and sport utility
     vehicles in the last year?

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Quiz

Syrian Refugees in Cedar Rapids

Syrian Refugee Crisis

"Mother Mosque of America"

Clarinda farmer plows Bernie sign in field

Backin the Bern































"I think he's honest and he's working for the working-class people," Pattavina said. "He's sincere. When you go back and look at his past, he hasn't changed."

Square IPO? What is square? IPO?

Video of Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square & Twitter

A successful IPO

What phase of the business cycle?

U. S. 3rd Quarter GDP increases 2.1%
U. S. 2nd Quarter GDP increases 3.9%

Will robots take your job?

Robots and the economy

1. Will a robot ever be your boss?
2. Will a robot ever teach children unsupervised by humans?
3. Will robots improve our lives?
4. What work will robots do?
5. Do you see any dangers in the widespread use  of robots?

Should We Build Another Pipeline Across Iowa

Build the Pipeline? or Not?

The Iowa Utilities Board

1. What is the project being discussed?

2. What is it's purpose

2. What governmental body will make the decision?

3. Who favors the pipeline?  Why?

4. Who opposes the pipeline? Why?

5. Write two paragraphs explaining how you would vote on this issue,
if you were a member of the Iowa Utilities Board?

What will the Job Market Look Like in the 2020's?

Jobs that are Disappearing

1. What are the two major factors that are shrinking employment in these occupations
according to the authors of this article?

2. Which of  these would  have and has already had a major impact on Iowa?

Where Will the Jobs be in the 2020's?

3. What do many  of these occupations apparently  require?

4. When you look at this list of jobs, what problem do you see?

What do you know about Cuba?

10 Facts about Cuba

What role does the U. S. Government play in the U. S. economy?

Consumer Reports weighs in on Air Bag Recall

Car and Driver Reports on Air Bag Recall

UPDATE 10/22/2015, 12:50 p.m.: In a public hearing today, NHTSA administrator
Mark Rosekind revealed more information about this massive recall situation. Nationwide,
only 22.5 percent of recalled vehicles have actually been fixed. It’s only slightly better in the
humid Gulf of Mexico region, where recalls have been completed in 29.5 percent of affected
vehicles even though airbag inflators in those locales are more likely to explode upon deployment.
Some inflators have been replaced with newer, but still at-risk, identical components.
Of the 115,000 removed inflators that Takata has tested, 450 have ruptured.
At NHTSA’s request, the 11 affected automakers conducted a risk assessment, which found
that six million total inflators in the United States “are in the highest-risk group that should
 take top priority for replacement parts,” according to Automotive News, while roughly
11 million are in the middle-priority group and two million are least at risk. In general,
the older the vehicle and the more humid the environment, the higher the priority that
the airbag inflator(s) be replaced.

11/3/2015, 6:00 p.m.: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
has issued Takata a record civil penalty of at least $70 million. The airbag supplier could 
be responsible for paying NHTSA as much as $200 million total if further violations are 
discovered. As part of the issuance, NHTSA has orderedthat Takata “phase out the 
manufacture and sale of inflators that use phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate propellant.”

What is the U. S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration?

It's 2015 Folks

The New Canadian Prime Minister
 has a Gender Balanced Cabinet

Where Does the U. S. Send $35 billion of Foreign Aid?

Foreign Aid to 40 countries

What is the economic impact of El Nino?

El Nino and Iowa

The Global Economy

Trick or Treating NYC Styl

Trick or Treat NYC Style