- Suppose someone tells you that, over time, free trade is helping capitalists and harming workers. What fact would you cite to challenge this statement?
- Suppose someone tells you that even if average real wages or average real compensation per hour increase, economic inequality could increase as well. Is this possible? To judge the overall prospects for a nation, what information might you want to have in addition to a measure of expected labor productivity growth?
- Do you fear that the Obama's administration $787 billion stimulus package, in conjunction with a record low federal funds target rate, will provoke inflation? Most economists were in consensus that rising unemployment was of much greater concern over 2008-2009 than was rising inflation. Do you agree with those economists? Why or why not?
- How do the figures used in the problems of news analysis compare to the figures from the article? How do they compare with figures published online by the Fed? Note that many figures in the news articles come from changes over a single quarter that were reported at an annualized rate. Do you agree with this common practice, or do you find it misleading?
- Was massive government spending necessary to help reduce unemployment? How about in the early 1940's? What impact, if any, would you expect the dysfunctional system to have on the natural rate of output?
- The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, the AIG bailout, and the mortgage crisis apparently shook investor confidence in financial institutions. Do you think their fears were justified? Do you believe that these financial events had an impact on your life?
- What are some similarities between the 1986-1995 savings and loan crisis and the mortgage crisis of 2008? Describe some differences. What do you think could have been done to moderate the impact of each crisis?
- How might forecasts of a falling general price level in the months following September 2008 help to explain investor's willingness to purchase T-bills with negative nominal yields?