Economics in Theater

Our school’s performances of Legally Blonde are this weekend, and with opening night vastly approaching, it has become evident how vital economics is to a performance. For example, when picking a date for the show, one must consider what other events are happening that same weekend. If the highly anticipated Pewaukee vs Whitnall Boys Basketball game is scheduled for the weekend of January 28th, then it is obviously a bad idea to schedule a performance for that same weekend, because the opportunity cost of attending the musical would be missing out on the most anticipated game of the season. Therefore, since planning a performance on the same evening as a game would lower the demand of ticket sales for that night significantly, and therefore the total revenue of the show would decrease, it would be a poor idea to follow through with that plan.This year, with the financial support of Pewaukee FOFA (Friends of the Fine Arts), we were able to rent “drops” for the musical. “Drops” are essentially giant curtains that are painted or printed, and used as backgrounds. For the show, we ordered three drops: a pink Delta Nu Sorority House, a Harvard University Entrance Gate, and a stain glass window Hair Salon. Each of these drops is expensive, even to rent, but they will significantly benefit the show and are much more attractive and visual to the audience than regular set pieces. The opportunity cost of purchasing these drops, is that we had to raise our ticket prices slightly, in order to ensure that we were breaking even on our expenses and making a profit. However, the opportunity cost for raising the ticket prices is that some people might decide that they don’t want to spend the extra money, and may decide not to purchase tickets to the show.

In the past 5 years, ticket prices for the musical have risen, and people are beginning to notice. Since they can be pricey, one might argue that if you have a son or daughter in the show, you should receive a discount on tickets. For example, my parents will both be attending all three shows, and since tickets are priced at $15 for adults, they will be spending $90 on just their tickets alone, for all three nights. Fifteen dollars is definitely on the higher side of High School musical tickets, seeing that most schools decide not to exceed $10 tickets. However, since the Arts Program at Pewaukee is continuing to prosper and become more and more advanced, the ticket prices must stand firm in order to build up a revenue that will be able to support the future finances and purchases of the department. Similarly, teenagers do not regularly have access to large amounts of money, so usually they have be considerate of how much money they are spending and where they are spending it, so that they don’t run out. Teenagers are largely attracted to large portions and cheap things. For example, many teenage boys will go to McDonalds and order off the dollar menu, in attempt to purchase lots of food for not a lot of money. When being compared to an item of the dollar menu, $10 musical tickets may seem expensive, and therefore teenage boys might decide to spend their money elsewhere. However, if the tickets were $5, then the boys would likely be more inclined to purchase tickets for the show, because they feel that the opportunity cost of attending the show is only worth five $1 hamburgers, rather than ten.

Also, one must consider that even though a large portion of the show is designed to entertain, we must also focus on making a profit, in order to fund future musical endeavors and other various activities related to the arts. Overall, economics are everywhere, and when considering a date, purchasing items for the show, and determining ticket prices, all of these economical aspects must be considered.

Student Financial Aid: Who Deserves it?

Rachel Rosencrans

Mr.Reuter

Economics

14 February 2017

Student Financial Aid: Who Deserves It?

Let’s face it; college is expensive. Students walk away with a degree and a large debt. They are not even guaranteed a job to pay off that debt.  This video explains the impact of student debt. People say college is an investment.  But who should we invest in?  Government aid has typically been given to students from low income families. However, in more recent years, a debate has begun about whether financial aid should be given based on need, like in the past, or based on merit.  What makes one hard working student more deserving of financial aid than another hard working student?

Merit based aid would help middle class families with above average students to pay for the rising price of college.  As of 2012, the cost of college “has more than doubled nationally over the past 10 years at four-year public colleges” (Levits). These students who received high grades and SAT/ACT scores are being rewarded for their hard work.  It is expected that these students will also be more successful during college due to their previous work ethic and dedication to academics. Investing government money in the education of these individuals is investing in our future leaders.

The counterargument to merit based aid is, of course, need based aid. The argument is that need based aid will help young adults to break from the poverty in which they were raised. Without this aid, these students would not be able to attend a university.  Also, the reason that these students may not have the same high level of academics as other students could be due to the fact that they have to help support their family. Students who have to work full time, go to school, do their homework, and God forbid, sleep, won’t do as well in school as other students who have more time to relax their minds and still complete all of their homework. By allocating more money to students who succeed in school, "’The money is being slowly taken away from the students who need it most,’ says Shannon McGhee, the associate director of financial planning at Mercer University, in Macon, Ga. She says African-American and Hispanic students are most likely to benefit from need-based plans because ‘they have not necessarily had the same educational opportunities as their white peers’” (Levits).  These students could have worked just as hard or even harder than the high achieving students had they been in a different economical situation at home during their high school years. Need based aid attempts to eliminate this problem by breaking the cycle of poverty so that these students can eventually raise children who don’t have to wonder where their next meal is coming from, but can focus on their studies.

As the cost of college continues to climb, it is difficult to decide who should get financial aid when it seems like everyone could use it.  However, everyone has to make trade offs.  The opportunity cost of giving one student money for college is that another deserving student cannot use that money for college. The more need based aid given, the less merit based aid that can be given.  This concept can be demonstrated by a production possibilities curve as shown in the picture below.  Overall, it is hard to decide who gets to leave college with less debt when there are a lot of different types of people in different financial situations that deserve the aid for different reasons.  Please leave a comment with your thoughts about the issue and which group of people you believe should get more aid financially and why.

Works Cited

Levitz, Jennifer, and Scott Thurm. "Shift to Merit Scholarships Stirs Debate." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 19 Dec. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.

Sherlock, A High-Functioning Sociopath

Sherlock, A High-Functioning Sociopath

Kavitha Babu

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch on BBC, Sherlock is one of the most popular T.V. shows to come out of the United Kingdom; it has been sold to 224 countries worldwide. As the company is based in the UK, hence the acronym for the British Broadcasting Corporation, the release of the show and its byproducts have helped the country’s economy sufficiently, at least the entertainment sector. Except, the release of long awaited series (a.k.a. season) 4, may have had unforeseen effects on the television programme and possibly on the BBC.

The show focuses on Sherlock Holmes and best friend John Watson, played by Martin Freeman. As many have said, the show’s success is because of these two actors and their wonderfully heartwarming chemistry. With magnetic storylines, witty comebacks, and numerous plot twists, Sherlock has developed one of the largest fandoms on the Internet. If you wish to divulge in this phenomena, then here lies the gate to this dark abyss. It also happens to have a major female audience, especially those aged 16-25. In my opinion, I would say this is because of the numerous ships between characters on the show, especially Johnlock. The ship between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson is one of most popular amongst the Internet. Fans go wild over the relationship between these two characters, whether it be a friendship, or as many believe, a romance. (As for me, I totally ship it. I mean, have you seen the way they look at each other? They are in love, I tell you. Absolutely, irrevocably in love.).

Being one of the major sources of revenue for the BBC, Sherlock is responsible for much of the entertainment finances. In 2012, their total revenue was £407 million, whereas in 2014 the total revenue was £526 million. Since 2014, however, the BBC is slowly decreasing in terms of their profits, and have been undergoing a deficit.

The income of this firm, thus is a part of the United Kingdom’s gross domestic product. Although, their portion is small in the GDP, being the largest broadcaster in the world, the BBC has a lot of influence domestically and internationally in terms of sales, be it through their news branch, worldwide branch, or entertainment branches. As seen in the graph below, the UK’s GDP has been increasing steadily, despite a few recessions here and there. Since consumer spending is a major part of GDP, the amount of money spent on Sherlock merchandising, DVD/Blu-Ray box sets, redistributed books, and many other products sold by the BBC, this show does in fact make an impact towards this value, however large or small it may be.

The release of the fourth series has sparked controversy, however, amongst fans and critics alike. In 2010, the first series had an average rating of 85 (out of 100). Series two, released in 2012, had an average of 92/100. And in 2014, the third series, captured a rating of 88. It’s sustained progress however came to an abrupt drop to 63, in series four. Having been four weeks since series four has come to a close, many fans across the world have been disappointed.

This show contains three 90-minute episodes per series, and as seen, each series has a long hiatus in between. There has been one special, released in 2016, which made over £24 million worldwide in the box office. However, in my opinion and many others, the previous seasons have had a unique feeling to them that was completely lacking in the fourth. The essence of Sherlock was the relationship between John and Sherlock as they solved mysteries. Each of the three episodes connect together, creating a larger storyline. There’s a classic villain, jaw-dropping moments, and epic cliffhangers. The whole show is a masterpiece, then came series four.

Without becoming a T.V. show critique, I digress. Having such an impact, the disappointment of this latest series has been lashed onto the BBC. Because of this major downfall, fans are expecting a series five to blow them away. The BBC has not directly taken this head on yet, but the unexpected turn of events has had many diminishing effects towards the company. Because of this, I suspect that in this year, the BBC’s revenue will decrease quite a bit, at least more than usual. Although since the influence is not large, the GDP will still continue to increase as a whole.

Although series four was a mess in some areas, there were some amazing Johnlock moments. So, to those who I may have discouraged from watching this show, it’s still amazing. Sherlock is the best thing to ever exist. Here is a link to the YouTube channel for trailers, clips, and interviews. I highly recommend it, especially for the first three seasons. I guarantee it will blow you away. There are some people who loved series four, so if you’re not much of a critic then go watch it on Netflix. And so, was series four really a mistake? Do John and Sherlock end up together? Will you lose your mind and want to scream every waking moment? I guess you’ll just have to find out for yourself.

Is Prom too Expensive?

Heather Martinson

Economics

Mr. Reuter

2/7/17

Is Prom Too Expensive?

For teenage girls, what are the two most looked forward to days of their lives? Prom and their wedding day. You know why those days are so important; because they are two of the very few days in a girl’s life where she can put on a dress, get her hair done, get her nails done, go tanning, finding the perfect makeup technique and put everything together in just enough time to feel like a princess. Every girl pictures their prom going a little something like this: find the perfect dress, get her hair and makeup done so she looks like a princess, find the perfect shoes, get the perfect date (and getting asked in a perfect way), and twirling the night away. Well let me be the first to tell you: that is not how it works.

Finding a dress can be a nightmare. You go from store to store trying on what feels like a billion dresses until you find the one. You fall in love with it because it fits perfectly and the color looks great on you. Then you look at the price tag and slowly back away. After weeks of searching through stores, I finally found my dress at a little boutique that was really hidden and hard to find. I found a dress that wasn’t as expensive as some others. It was still $400; however, it was a very well known designer. Dress stores during the prom season are estimated to bring in $2.7 billion during the prom season. That includes the department stores like Macy’s, Boston Store, and Sears. As well as specialty prom dress stores like Peaches, Amilition, and Savvy Seconds.

On the day of prom, the girl usually gets up around 8 am and goes to her nail appointment, then immediately after she spends an hour or 2 in the nail salon, breathing in those harsh fumes, she goes to a hair appointment and gets stabbed by what feels like 100 bobby pins and breathing in more hairspray than what goes in her hair. Then she goes home and puts her brand new makeup on. She wants it to look perfect so she spends extra time making sure she does it right, just to mess it up in the end. She doesn’t even have her corset back dress on yet and then she hears the doorbell ring. She tells her dad to answer the door while she frantically calls her mom to tie the dress on her while she’s tying her shoelaces. She finally gets everything on and looks good enough. She goes to the top of the stairs and sees her date standing there. She is now starting to realize that she should’ve gotten her dress altered because now she can’t walk down the stairs.

The price of prom is progressively getting higher and higher. Pretty soon families won’t be able to afford to send their kids to prom. The opportunity cost of purchasing a dress that is a little cheaper and maybe not your dream dress is being able to spend more money on makeup, hair and nails so that there is something in your appearance that will distract from the dress.

This year, there is expected to be 20 million students that attend prom. The average 17 year old is expected to spend $638 with each couple spending $1,200. Prom is getting so expensive that students are starting to choose to not attend, which is depriving them of a fun experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNtHG5MGSU8

Works Cited

• CNNMoney. YouTube. YouTube, 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

Kasperkevic, Jana. "Prom night can cost teenagers (and parents) a pretty penny." Millennial finance. Guardian News and Media, 20 Apr. 2015. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

Unemployment in Simple Terms

Written by: Brianna Cieslak

Unemployment in Simple Terms

Have you ever gotten frustrated while on a call about being told to push certain numbers to get to a specific representative? You accidentally pressed the wrong number and you had to start the call all over again, what could be worse? Instead of speaking to an actual person in the first place, they have you go through a five-minute process just to get to the one representative you need to speak to. When you think about it, there are so many companies in the world which they would have to hire a lot of people to pick up each individual call. Instead of employing a lot of workers, they buy robots or recordings to start taking the calls from each customer. Since jobs are now being replaced by technology and recordings, it is harder to find a job. It’s now more difficult to find a job which will then require more perseverance and some mental techniques to land a job.

For people who are unemployed, finding a job is a must. If robots and recorded voices are replacing what humans used to do, how can they find a job? Unemployment won’t continue to go down unless they start making available jobs within the company itself. If people keep on getting denied a job they will eventually become discouraged workers. They will give up on ever getting a job and even looking for available positions, they’re just done. If these people continue down this kind of path, they will have no faith in putting in hard work and continuing to search for work. This will then cause the unemployment rate to go up because there will be more citizens not in the work force. As shown on the graph, unemployment has gone down dramatically since 2009. This means that there are less discouraged workers out in the community.

To get people motivated to get a job, they need to have a picture of some kind of  reward in the end. Even if it is as simple as a telemarketing job or fast food, they're still apart of the employed ratio. They will then be involved in the employment ratio and contribute to our economy.  When people have a steady job and produce products or services, it means that our economy is most likely strong as long as there is a balance of our imports and exports. We are able to calculate or total value of goods and services produced by the Real GDP which occurs annually. Overall, as long as people continue to put in the effort and strive for a better future, the unemployment rate will be steady or continue to go down. Having a good future doesn't come easy, you have to put in work to contain greatness.

Works Cited:

"United States Unemployment Rate, 1948-2017, " United States Unemployment Rate, 07 Feb. 2017.

Rotman, David. "How Technology Is Destroying Jobs." MIT Technology Review. MIT Technology Review, 01 Sept. 2016. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

"Yes, the robots will steal our jobs. And that’s fine." The Washington Post. WP Company, n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

"How to Support Someone Who Is Unemployed: Seven Steps to Making a Difference." Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

American Cars To Be Made In America

American Cars To Be Made In America

By Tommy Manbeck

Image of Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky

Moving into the next era of the United States with the reforms by President Trump, there seems to be a migration of production moving from Mexico to the U.S. This investment in America is bringing hope to cities who failed when these very automotive manufacturing jobs were exported to Mexico, and will give Detroit citizens hope to restore their economy. According to Bunkley, America's largest auto producers pledged to invest in the USA by building plants here. The companies pledging to move production to the USA include Ford who will invest 700 million, FCA who will spend 1 billion and GM who with their new plant, will invest 1 billion to create American manufacturing jobs.

With Detroit's economy so behind the rest of the United States (as seen in the graph above), it will be huge for them to have these manufacturing jobs back where they belong. A healthy unemployment rate is around 5 percent, but Detroit is nearly double that statistic. To worsen matters, Detroit's issue lies primarily in cyclical unemployment which is the most difficult for an economy to recover from without government intervention.

Large American automotive companies left Detroit in the past, due to a large per unit tax on production of these vehicles, making it far less profitable to produce here. These taxes were imposed on automotive companies for the polluting nature of manufacturing to correct the negative externalities of this pollution. According to President Trump in This Video , these taxes and permits are for things most people would have never heard of and as an environmentalist, he of course wants to protect the environment on his quest to create many stable and lasting jobs in the U.S. (Reuters) President Trump is doing a great thing by nudging fortune 500 companies back to the states, as it will ensure more Americans a have stable income, allowing them to succeed and live happier, healthier lives.

Donald Trump's import tariff may be a large step in the right direction, but this 35% tax on importing goods to the USA is only a small step in the direction of solving America's unemployment problems, which will lead to reducing welfare and increasing safety as fewer people will be fiscally challenged. Likewise, these companies investing in America are also only a small step in the direction of creating these jobs to move wealth back to the USA. Step by step, we are going to accomplish these goals of making America rich again, making America safe again, making America strong again, and making America great again.

Works Cited

Bunkley, Nick. “GM to Invest $1 Billion in U.S. Manufacturing, Move Axle Work from Mexico.” Automotive News, Automotive News, 17 Jan. 2017, www.autonews.com/ article/20170116/OEM01/170119817/gm-to-invest-$1-billion-in-u.s.-manufacturing-move-axle-work-from.

Reuters. “What Donald Trump Told America’s Biggest Automakers.” Fortune.com, Fortune, 24 Jan. 2017, fortune.com/2017/01/24/donald-trump-auto-executives-increase-production/.

Counterfeit Production

Counterfeit Production

By: Danya Almoghrabi

The production of counterfeit fashion is a negative externality towards the economy. Counterfeit fashion is the production of fake brand names such as Nike,Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, and many other brands. Consumers of these counterfeit products need to become more aware of how terrible this is to the economy.

Fake v. Real Celine bag

According to the “World Trademark Review”, the counterfeit market earns a revenue of more than $600 billion each year. That number means a lot of things towards, not just the economy, but also towards other people. These fake goods affect the real brand name companies whose total demand lessens because of how many people buy the cheap, fake products. For example, Louis Vuitton, one of the most counterfeited brands in the fashion industry, could be making billions of more total revenue if there wasn’t so much counterfeits being sold. These products are sold illegally on the streets, online, or in stores.

The impact that counterfeit products have on the economy is huge. The sales of real products reduce because people would rather buy cheaper items that looks similar to the real thing. This causes fewer output which leads to a decline in production. Additionally, it increases unemployment because if less products are being produced, less workers are needed. Also, concerning the global industry, it decreases trade because the products are not needed as much. Each country’s economy is affected because of counterfeit products. In the U.S. alone, we approximately $200 billion is lost annually because of counterfeits.

Counterfeit Bags Being Sold

Production of counterfeits don’t affect just the economy, but living dangers as well. For example, when a counterfeit is sold, the person selling the item usually sells it at a higher price than it is to make it so, they make a profit. With that money, they can do anything they want with it, like purchasing other illegal products. Although this is not always the case, counterfeit products create a domino effect that impact others as well as the economy. There are many other dangers that counterfeit products create, but, as described in the video below, there are also ways to stop them from happening.

https://videos.vidible.tv/prod/2014-09/18/55421368e4b08df3b6a8c525_640x360_LD_v1.mp4?06TEbk5F_Xw3QD5NLyvYNo1_sCS5oTdmyF9S38zWGXQNIdoTJo-zqPqbfrDUaCiT

In conclusion, people should be more informed on the dangers of counterfeit products towards the economy. Consumers may think that they are saving money buying fake products, but the opportunity costs are too high for this to continue. If you ever think of buying fake products, stop and think of how many other things you are affecting because of that small purchase.

Sources:

Flows, Capital. "As Louis Vuitton Knows All Too Well, Counterfeiting Is A Costly Bargain." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 25 June 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2017.

"The Harmful Effects of Counterfeit Goods." Athens State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2017.

Lieber, Chavie. "Why the $600 Billion Counterfeit Industry Is Still Horrible for Fashion." Racked. N.p., 01 Dec. 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2017.