Homework 13 (Due 10/5 by 5:00 PM)

Part 1: Questions
1. Since money is not something you can eat, wear, or use for shelter, what qualities does it have that make it a valuable thing?
2. Imagine a hurricane destroys a city. One hour after the storm is over, who is better off than if it had never happened? Who did the hurricane make wealthy?
3. If there is only so much wealth to go around, does this mean everyone must get poorer as more people are born?
4. If it is necessary for one person to earn less if another earns more, wouldn’t that mean it is immoral for you to be in college attempting to make more money?
5. Would an all-powerful, all-loving God make a world where we can only get ahead at the expense of others?
6. When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb and began selling it to people and making a profit, who became poorer because he was making money? Was the world better, worse, or the same afterward?
7. How does the life of a person on welfare in America today compare to the life of the average person in the country 100 years ago? Medical, technology, labor, food, education, etc.
8. When I voluntarily give money to buy a new suit, do I do so because I think the money and the suit are of equal value, the suit is worth more, or the money is worth more? What does the merchant think?
9. If I give a hundred pounds of seed corn to a farmer and also to a starving man, how will each of them use it?
10. When we say that a sporting event is fair to all competitors, what does that mean? Can the event be fair and yet still have winners and losers?
11. If an outside observer were to come and watch K-12 education, what observations might he make about the purpose of the way school is structured as it relates to being an employee?
12. If capitalism is our economic system and entrepreneurs drive the economy, why don’t we teach people to start and own businesses in school?
13. Can poor people help other poor people to be financially secure?
14. When a new casino is built in town, people talk about all the new jobs created. Where does the money come from to fund those new jobs? Where would that money be spent if there were no casino?
15. If a window gets broken, it is certainly good news for the window-maker. Is it bad news for anyone?
16. Historians have sometimes observed that a “wartime economy” is very prosperous for a country. How might you explain this?
17. Can you earn a lot of money and still have financial problems?
18. Who has more potential for financial disaster, someone who earns much or someone who earns little?
19. How would you define financial independence?
20. If a house is such a good investment, why do banks buy mortgages instead of houses?