Extra Credit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Extra Credit - Essay Example From roughly 9,000 B.C. to approximately 6,000 B.C. livestock was a popular medium of exchange. However, as agriculture developed later on, people used their crops to acquire goods they desired (â€Å"Thinkquest†). For example, I could ask another farmer to trade a pound of potatoes for a pound of sugar. These exchanges, which started at the beginning of humankind, are still used today. Not too long ago, I came across the story of Kyle MacDonald. On his blog, oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com, Kyle posted a picture of a small, red paperclip. There was nothing special about this paperclip; just a regular old run-of-the-mill paperclip. The post stated that he would travel anywhere to meet the person who wished to trade him some item for his paperclip. After a while, a woman contacted Kyle regarding a wooden fish pen that she wished to trade him for his red paperclip. Obviously, she could have picked up a red paperclip at any office supply store or big-box retailer, but Kyle had added value to this particular paperclip. By â€Å"added value,† I mean he drew attention to the paperclip making it seemingly more than just a regular paperclip. If this woman were to trade him, she would, at the very least, be mentioned on his blog. Thus, she wanted to participate in the trade, exchanging her wooden fish pen, which in my opinion was far cooler than the red paperclip. Kyle stated his goal in the very first post, with the red paperclip. He was to up-trade, from that single, red paperclip, to a home. So, with wooden fish pen in hand, Kyle posted photos of the woman who he had traded with, along with photos of the pen on his blog. Again, he stated that he would travel anywhere to trade someone another item for his pen. He was contacted not too long after posting the fish pen, by a woman named Annie Robbins in Seattle, WA, who wanted to trade a handmade doorknob for the fish pen. This was not just any doorknob. It was handmade, and looked like an old, bald man;

Government Impact on Economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Government Impact on Economy - Research Paper Example Some economists, such as William McChesney Martin, view the economy as inherently unstable while others, such as Milton Friedman, argue that it is naturally stable (Mankiw, 1997). Due to this argument, policymakers view economic stabilization as one of their primary responsibilities. So they make laws that will try to stabilize the economy. These lawmakers, together with many economists, believed that in the absence of an active government role in the economy, events like the Great Depression could occur regularly (Mankiw, 1997). Recessions are periods wherein the economy experiences high unemployment rate, as a result, there will be lower income and reduced economic well-being. Monetary and fiscal policies can prevent recessions by responding to the shocks in the aggregate demand and supply. Economists also view it wasteful if the policy instruments were not used to stabilize the economy. However, the economic stabilization would be easy if the impacts of both monetary and fiscal po licies were immediate because sometimes the lags between the implementation and effects of policies make stabilizing the economy more difficult. Then, the need for automatic stabilizers comes in. These are the policies designed to reduce the lags associated with stabilization policy. It is very clear that the government should and must take a hands-on approach to macroeconomic policy to affect the employment environment. They should take full control over the policies that would have impacts on the economy, especially in the employment environment.  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚