Minimum Wage, yo.

I believe that the minimum wage is an important thing to have; without it, companies would somehow manage to get away with paying their employers very little simply because it may be the best they can get. I believe minimum wage should be at least $10; a person should be able to support themselves on minimum wage. Although raising the minimum wage would require more money from the businesses, it's important for people to be able to survive and support themselves through their jobs. If they aren't able to do that, they're in trouble. For someone like me, a teenager trying to get a job just to have a little extra money or help pay for things, the minimum wage is fine; however, for someone trying to survive entirely off of it, it may become a bit difficult. The minimum wage should most definitely not be abolished; and as nice as it would be for it to raise to $15-20, that would begin to put strain on the businesses and the amount of employees they can hire. I support the minimum wage, but it's an issue that must be tread through carefully in order to help everyone.

Price Floors, yo.

Aside from minimum wage, I don't think price floors are altogether that beneficial to the economy either. Of course, in some situations there are perks - a higher price means more income for the businesses. However, a higher price also means that less people are going to be willing or able to buy the product, and thus the consumer market will go down. Businesses having the same goods at different prices is a very important part of the economy; when businesses compete, they lower their prices to beat the others and as such, provide the consumers with a lower price. Competition in business is much better for the economy as compared to having price floors set on goods. It would also throw off the market equilibrium, creating a surplus of certain goods; if people are less willing to buy goods at the higher price, but the supply increases because of the raised price, then the businesses will end up with a surplus of goods.

Price Ceilings, yo.

While there are both pros and cons to having price ceilings placed on certain goods, the cons tend to far outweigh the pros; I disagree with the use of price ceilings. Although making the prices of items more accessible to everyone is helpful to many people, it also causes problems such as lower quality goods, hoarding, and scarcity of the goods in question because of how much demand there is for them at these lower prices. As well as becoming more difficult to get, many people will begin selling the same goods in black markets for considerably higher prices because of how difficult it can become to access the goods at the new lower prices. While many people would think lowering the price of something everyone needs would be a beneficial and helpful thing, the contrary is actually more likely; it would cause more harm to the people and the economy than it would help.

Supply Wrap Up, yo. (edi

Demand Connection, yo.

Out of all the topics we're able to write this entry about, I'm going to choose Inelastic Demand as my topic - specifically, gas prices, which is a topic I'm sure I'm not the only one writing about. Now that I've started driving and having to pay for more of my own gas, I'm realizing how very, very expensive it is. It costs about $40 to fill up the tank on my little blue car, and putting $10 in seems to vanish almost immediately. Gas, though, is something necessary to everyone, and no matter how expensive it may get people will still buy it.

These days, I'm always watching to see which gas stations may have a lower price - one I pass on the way to school has a gallon for about ten cents less than the station near my house. It's beneficial to get gas there if I'm nearby, but to drive out of my way to go there, I'm probably not saving much money. But even if people can get gas for a lower price at a different station, there's a high chance they'll get gas wherever is most convenient. Even if the price were to rise to ridiculous prices, people will still buy it because it's necessary for their every day schedule and transportation.

The reasons that gas count as an inelastic demand good are that even if the price fluctuates, people will still buy around the same amount - nor will they go out of their way to buy more or less. A cars gas tank can only fit so much, and so when gas prices get low, it isn't as if a person can stock up on gas while it's cheap; they're ruled by the size of their gas tank. Like another example of inelastic demand, milk, you can't stock up on it, can only get it when you need it. That is what makes gas an inelastic good.

As for a question to finish off this entry; if there were a way for people to stock up on gas (using sources outside of their gas tank) how would the price of gas change?

Demand Wrap Up, yo.

Demand Headlines, yo.

1. Complimentary: "Return of Captain America, patriotism skyrockets - American pies and flags purchase rises."
2. Substitute: "All hot dog carts destroyed during New York attack - citizens turn to shawarma instead."
3. Elastic: "Price of pop-tarts hits the roof - buyers reply 'nay'."
4.  Inelastic: "Cost of construction rises - citizens dutifully pay their due no matter the cost."

        "After the attack on New York from the Norse god, Loki, reconstruction of damaged property has been slow-going. So many buildings are destroyed, and many citizens wonder if our city will ever be back to it's former glory - however, many are optimistic and willing to do as much as possible. No matter the price, they will do what they must in order to fix the city. People are gathering together to help rebuild; the sense of community is astounding. While some businesses have been raising their prices due to so much demand, people are buying the necessary materials needed despite the higher cost. “It’s worth it in the end, once we’ve gotten everything back to normal,” one bystander comments. The famed Iron Man is contributing large amounts of money and materials as well. We can be rest assured that no matter what the price is, our city will be as good as new again in no time."

Elasticity Diagrams, yo.

Demand Schedule, yo