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Learn how to check grades and help your child improve their failing grades. Also, gain a better understanding of federal debt and deficit, progressive taxation, tax deductions and credits, government budgets, and labor market economics.
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What I’m going to say to your parents • "Your son/daughter is failing. They cannot graduate unless they pass all their classes”- Reasons why failing: Participation? Completes work? Test scores?" • How to check grades • How they can bring up their grade (no, it isn't too late).“ • Whether or not they signed up to fix grade
Test on Monday • Federal debt and deficit (how to calculate, approximate numbers where they stand) • Progressive taxation (how to calculate) • Tax deductions & tax credits (more calculation) • Major items on our government’s budget • Major differences between national vs state & local spending • Discretionary vs. Mandatory spending • Capital gains tax • Vocabulary List #4
Productivityand the Demand for Labor Mr. Way, Economics, 3/15/12 12.4.3 Discuss wage differences among jobs and professions, using the laws of demand and supply and the concept of productivity.
Labor Markets • As with anything bought and sold, there is a market for labor. • “Producers” of labor are people who are paid to do work. • “Consumers” of labor are people who hire others to do work. • The price of labor is found by seeing where supply and demand for labor meet.
What determines demand for labor? • Employers face a fairly simple equation when deciding whether to hire people: “Will they generate as much as or more money than they are paid?” • The value of the services you provide is called your “productivity.” • If your productivity is greater than your compensation, an employer will hire you.
Factors that affect productivity • Personal characteristics (Hard worker? Fast learner? Critical thinker? • Skills (vocational school, education) • Capital resources • Social value of whatever you produce (fastest snot-ornament maker in the world isn’t very “productive”)
Compensation for Labor • “Compensation” is another word for “pay” • Compensation comes in many forms: • Wage (amount paid by the hour) • Salary (set yearly income) • Benefits (added “perks” like health coverage) • Commission (bonus pay per unit produced) • Stock options (own a part of company, share in profits)
Income Differentials • The difference between income levels for different people/groups is called an income differential (or wage differential) • There are two main reasons why some individuals are paid more than others: • They are more “productive,” i.e. they produce something of much higher value • There is a very limited supply of people who can produce what they do.
Income Differentials • Buying 8 hours of labor from a guy flippin’ burgers would cost about $60, because the value of burgers is low and anybody could do it. • Buying 8 hours of legal advice could easily cost more than $8000, because a business or wealthy person could save tens of thousands or more by winning or avoiding a lawsuit, and few people have the legal knowledge to compete. • i.e. A lawyer is much more “productive” and “scarce” than the guy in the McDonalds kitchen.
Conclusion • You are paid based on how much you are worth to employers. • If you want to be paid a lot, you have to produce something people will pay a lot of money for. • Additionally, you need to produce something somewhat unique.
Writing prompts: • Answer all of the following in paragraph form: • Why are some people paid more than others for the same amount of time working? • Do you believe it is fair for some professions to make more money than others? • Do you think people should have the option to be paid in cash instead of “benefits?”