How does Hosting the Olympics impact a country?

 How does hosting the Olympics impact a country?

Carson Dobberstein

Hosting the Olympics has always been something that countries want to do since they began. They want to show off how awesome their country, and their culture. Countries put a lot of effort into planning, and building the Olympic grounds because they want it to be the best venue in the history of the Olympics. There are many benefits to hosting the Olympic games, but do the negatives outweigh those benefits? You decide.

Where it all begins. The host of the Olympics is determined 11 years out. For 2 years the countries look at if they can financially host the Olympics, make sure the construction companies, architectural companies, ect. Are on board with getting the Olympics done and making it the absolute best that they can so the rest of the world sees how great their country is. After those 2 years countries bid on who gets to host the Olympics. A country has to pay an entree fee of $150,000 minimum and the Olympic committee won’t stop you from starting off with more money (they might listen to what you have to say if you give more money.) In 2016 barak obama was unsuccessful in getting the Olympics in Chicago, his bid was said to be around 200 million dollars. 

Large risk, MEGA project. 

Hosting the Olympics is a huge risk. At first I would’ve personally read that and said why? How? There are large risks in lots of ways. For example, you CANNOT be late on getting everything built and perfect, you are on a deadline that can’t be shifted even a few hours, not even just the venue but everything around it that has to be built, new roads, everything. Due to the deadline not being shifted, every Olympic games since 1932 has gone over 100% of their budget, most of them have gone over 145% of their budget. 45% doesnt sound like that much does it? Well, when you’re talking about being in the billions, 45% is a lot of extra money. Another huge risk you are taking is tourists, you are expecting to make a lot of your profit off of people coming to the venue, buying merchandise, staying in hotels, not necessarily just at the Olympic grounds, but everything surrounding it is well. Think about this the Olympics is chosen 11 years out, so Beijing 2022 would’ve been chosen in 2011. Beijing was expecting a large tourist coming out to the games that was a big part of the reason it made any financial sense to host the games. Flash forward to now, nobody, not even family was allowed to attend the Olympics, strictly athletes, and coaches. With choosing the hosting country 11 years out, whatever happens is unpredictable and your country could lose a ton of money. But, that being said, I don’t think a pandemic has ever effected the Olympics like the covid pandemic. 

We’ve talked a little about the process of creating an Olympic site, the risks of hosting, now let’s decide if it makes sense to host the Olympics. In 1984, the Los Angeles Olympics decided to use pre-built sites, the total profit made was 200 million-plus in profit. If we look at the Montreal games which was estimated to be a $360 million dollar project turned into a $1.6 billion dollar project they lost a lot of money on those games. 

To conclude, hosting the Olympic games is something countries want to do. This is most likely due to Nationalism and not profit, although countries can make a really good profit off of it. Would you host the Olympics purley based on the money? Why or why not? 

https://www.britannica.com/list/7-ways-hosting-the-olympics-impacts-a-city

https://www.procon.org/headlines/hosting-the-olympic-games-top-3-pros-and-cons/

https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/29/sport/costs-and-benefits-of-the-olympics/

How Gas Prices Affect the Economy

 How Gas Prices Affect the Economy

Nicholas Dettlaff

In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, not everything was dark and gloomy. Although the economy was hit hard and businesses all around were struggling, us daily drivers weren’t in that bad of a situation. All due to the gas prices that fell down to just under a dollar per gallon. Recently, that hasn’t been the case. With gas prices more than tripling we were dealt a worse hand than even before the pandemic. From your average spectator's eye, gas prices are fluctuating, and you would be correct, but what is the real impact in these rising gas prices? And why are they rising?

When people are asked what caused the prices to skyrocket, they immediately blame Joe Biden. Which isn’t entirely correct. Don’t get me wrong, with the election of our new president he is certainly at fault for a large portion of it. Biden and his administration have restricted the supply of domestic purchasable oil and pressured banks and asset managers to deprive themselves from traditional energy projects. On top of that, restricting America’s ability to produce its own oil instead of relying on other foreign drilling practices. As well as cutting off American supplies of oil by canceling the Keystone pipeline and limiting a large portion of our domestic drilling. subsequently removing nearly 11,000 people from work from the pipeline alone. Relying on the supply of foreign oil has caused prices to increase exponentially since the local supply has been restricted, therefore the demand increases.

Although the source of the prices aren’t entirely political, On top of our president's decisions, it’s monetary pressure on oil companies from financial losses that have almost forced them to switch things up. Since the pandemic, investments in the oil industry have dropped over 25%, allowing no room for breathing for these companies. For an industry that has lost 90% of its stock value since 2012, these rising costs were kind of a no brainer.

What are the effects of higher gas prices?

When gas prices rise, the general public's confidence in buying other retail products plummets, as their consumer confidence is spent a large portion on gas. Higher prices of gas may also apply to less people driving in general. While consumers tend to drive less, they resort to online shopping and shipping. Although shipping costs rise as the seller has to pay for gas at the same time. could cost more as gas prices rise. This is especially true for products, or components for products, that are manufactured overseas. “Likewise, many products that contain plastics or synthetic materials are based in part on petroleum and refining. Higher oil prices mean higher prices for these materials too.” According to investopedia.

Stimulus Checks and Covid

Written by: Bryce Denzien  

Stimulus Checks and Covid

Through the pandemic, there have been many families struggling with money due to many jobs being let go and also a large raise in prices across the board due to inflation in the economy.

Stimulus checks, while seemingly a good idea, were proven to be unsuccessful. According to CBS, the amount of money needed for stimulus checks was 1.9 trillion dollars from the government. On top of that there were many unemployment benefits to support those who were intaking the stimulus checks. When given something free consistently over time people don’t become reliant on themselves, but rather on the free money from the government. On top of that, the United States economy went down 3.5% amidst Covid-19 lowering the GDP of the country. With both people becoming unreliant on themselves and rather the government and the overall GDP dropping, there were loads of cyclical unemployment and a large raise of discouraged workers of nearly 680,000 total. Some peoples low-wage jobs, which were very vulnerable during the pandemic were cut off which represents that cyclical unemployment, but the unfortunate piece is due to stimulus checks the will to work was cut down and down, because it was free money. If people used the money of stimulus checks as the government intended there would be no issues. The problem is people were using the money on things they wanted. My grandpa owns some apartments in West Allis, and rather than people paying him rent he saw boxes upon boxes of TV’s and things unneeded especially when money was tight to begin with.

The solution that should’ve been put into place was stimulus checks of lesser amounts to allow people to still have the same desire to work and succeed at a job. On top of that, with the lesser amount of money, setting limitations where the people intaking the checks can spend it; furthermore, teaching people how to use their money wisely, but more importantly having structure so the money isn’t wasted. Overall, stimulus checks had many flaws causing unemployment and a large raise in discouraged workers.

The Economic Impact of Legalized Sports Betting

 What could legalizing sports betting do for an economy?

By: Nathan Schroeder

In 2018, Super Bowl 52 was played between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. Super Bowl Sunday is a great day where people get together, make good food, and watch football. Another thing that it is big for is sports betting. During Super Bowl 52, Americans bet $4.67 billion dollars on the game, and 97% of that money was bet illegally. This then sparked the question of the potential economic impact that sports betting could have if it was legalized. 

This shows just how big the sports betting industry is if one game is able to generate $4.76 billion dollars in wagers. The sports betting industry has taken off over the past decade and it continues to grow at a rapid rate. The industry is estimated to be worth well over $200 billion dollars. While there are ways for states to make money off sports betting, the primary way is through taxation. If states such as Wisconsin were to legalize sports betting then it would generate more money in taxes, which can lead to more money for roads, schools, and public transportation. With the widespread legalization of sports betting, it has the potential to generate millions in tax revenue. With that, legalizing sports betting could also increase potential tourism for certain cities and states. For instance, Las Vegas is the gambling capital of the world which attracts tourists. Not only does this help with gaining more money on taxes, but it also helps generate money for local restaurants, hotels, and vendors. 

Where there is an increase in tourism, money, and the local economy, there will also be an increase in jobs. Around 750,000 people in America are employed through the gaming industry, which then accounts for over $75 billion dollars in salaries and benefits for middle-class families around the country. These numbers are only expected to grow in the next 10 years with a projection of 62,000 new jobs, and the legalization of sports betting in all 50 states will only help to boost those numbers. 

As seen in the graph above, the projected revenue of the sports betting industry is projected to boom within the next couple of years. With one factor, all states legalize it. Currently, people have to illegally use a book to place bets where states and cities reap zero benefits from it. If it legalizes it, that means more jobs, money in taxes, and an increase in tourism. States need to make the right decision to legalize sports betting so that the economy, and most importantly the people can benefit because putting the “illegal” tag on it, isn’t stopping people from betting. 

https://morningconsult.com/2018/06/07/legal-sports-gamblings-future-younger-less-wealthy-bettors/

Vaccine Mandates Impacting Economy

 Written by: Sam Deibert 

Vaccine Mandates Impacting Economy

Over the past week, truckers have begun what they call a “Freedom Convoy”, or a blockade located at the Canada-American border. There are three major blockage points, one in Montana, North Dakota, and most importantly, at America’s biggest tradepoint with Canada, Ambassador Bridge which links Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario. These protests have lasted days, adding to existing supply chain issues. 

The protests were started by Canadian and American truckers in response to both countries mandating that truck drivers must be fully vaccinated to cross the border. In regard to policy, I feel as though these protester’s actions are justified. They should have the right to continue doing their job - which is almost solely independent - regardless of vaccination status. As someone who has received all of my vaccinations, I am not anti-vax. However, I strongly disagree with the perspective that everyone has to be vaccinated in order to work or receive medical treatment that is being pushed by some today. 

The industry that has been hit hardest because of this blockade is the automotive industry, stalling auto plants in Michigan, Ohio, Alabama, and West Virginia. This is largely due to bad timing, coming right after last year’s global computer chip shortage. Because of last year’s shortage, automotive manufacturers have already been running on very thin inventory. This meant that when their supply had been cut for nearly a week, they had to stop production in some cases. So, car prices have remained extremely high or have even climbed higher recently, because supply is significantly low. 

Even though I do think that the trucker’s actions have valid supporting reasons from a political point of view, when you look at it from an economical point of view it becomes much harder to support. Car manufacturers and other industries are being punished the most rather than the government, which ultimately impacts us as consumers. For that reason, I have mixed feelings about these protests. I do feel like they have gotten their message across, but it’s not worth sacrificing our economic production at a crucial time of recovery from the pandemic. 

Works Cited

Solman, Paul, and Ryan Connelly Holmes. “Canadian Trucker Blockades Impact Production on Both Sides of the Border.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 11 Feb. 2022, www.pbs.org/newshour/show/canadian-trucker-blockades-impact-production-on-both-sides-of-the-border.

Swanson, Ana, and Jack Ewing. “Auto Production Restarts after the Ambassador Bridge Is Cleared.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Feb. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/business/canada-protest-auto-supply-chain.html.

Rising Tuition Costs in the US

Written by: Musaab Tareen 

 Rising Tuition Costs in the US

As many high school students begin applying to colleges, one issue on the mind of both students and parents is the price of college tuition. Tuition rates have risen over 175% in the US over the past two decades, and the United States has become the second-highest country in the cost of secondary education among all developed nations. Due to these numbers, and the over 1.6 trillion dollars in student debt owed by the American people, many begin to wonder whether the US government should be doing more to try and control tuition prices and make college more affordable for students. 

US tuition prices have grown at an extremely high rate over the past twenty years. The average yearly tuition for private universities has risen by over 26,000 dollars. For public colleges, it has risen by over 18,000 dollars for out-of-state tuition and over 10,000 dollars for in-state tuition. While these increases may seem astonishing, what is more surprising is that these increases are part of a growing trend seen in the US since the 1980s. During this time period tuition costs on average have risen by around 500%, which is double the amount which inflation has risen over the past 40 years. These rising costs have caused many problems for the United States and look to continue to do so. Rising costs have caused fewer students to choose to attend a university after high school graduation, with the rate of college participation dropping over the past 40 years and total college enrolment numbers dropping since 2010. This means that to more and more people, the opportunity cost of attending college is too high to outweigh any benefits a college education may have down the road. While some may not see this as a problem, as many of those who choose not to attend college go directly to the labor force, with technology evolving at a rapid rate in the US there will be more high qualification jobs available, and fewer people to fill them. The increase in prices has also affected low-income students who have seen their college participation rate stay at a meager 33%, less than half of the national participation rate. This rate has been increasing over the past 40 years, however, at a very slow rate showing little growth and little increase in incentive for low-income students to attend college. 

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2017-09-20/see-20-years-of-tuition-growth-at-national-universities

   

 https://educationdata.org/college-enrollment-statistics

So what are the options that the US government has to try and fix this? One option which was presented by lawmakers in the past was to grant more federal aid to colleges who choose to raise prices only at inflation level or lower. This would provide universities an incentive not to raise their tuition at high levels as they would be able to attract a high demand of students due to low tuition rates, and still recuperate any losses incurred due to not raising tuition higher through federal funding. This is a viable option which the government could take; however, it would only work with public colleges that receive federal funding, and would also cause a need for a tax shift or a shift in funding from other sectors of the government to pay for the extra funding. Another option would be to put a price ceiling on tuition rates based on educational quality. This would still allow high-quality universities to receive higher tuition to pay for their student’s educational experience, however, it would help lower the overall cost of education. This option is viable as well, however could come with unwanted consequences such as a drop in quality of education as well. 

All in all, it is clear that rising tuition costs are a very large issue in the US and something must be done to counter them. While many of the solutions that the US government may have at their disposal do have drawbacks to them, the extent to which tuition costs have become a problem is much higher than any problems the drawbacks from these solutions may incur. Whether it is through price ceilings, or restructuring federal aid, the US government must take a role in trying to lower tuition costs to make post-secondary education affordable for all.

Works Cited

Armstrong, Martin, and Felix Richter. “Infographic: The World's Highest and Lowest Tuition Fees.” Statista Infographics, 17 Sept. 2021, www.statista.com/chart/11058/bachelor-tuition-fees-international-comparison/.

Hanson, Melanie, and Fact Checked. “College Enrollment Statistics [2022]: Total   by Demographic.” Education Data Initiative, 22 Jan. 2022, educationdata.org/college-enrollment-statistics.

Hoffower, Hillary. “College Is More Expensive than It's Ever Been, and the 5 Reasons Why Suggest It's Only Going to Get Worse.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 26 June 2019, www.businessinsider.com/why-is-college-so-expensive-2018-4.

“Home.” Education at a Glance 2021 : OECD Indicators | OECD ILibrary, www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/b35a14e5-en/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/b35a14e5-en.

News, Zenger. “College Tuition Is Rising at Twice the Inflation Rate-While Students Learn At Home.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Dec. 2021, www.forbes.com/sites/zengernews/2020/08/31/college-tuition-is-rising-at-twice-the-inflation-rate-while-students-learn-at-home/?sh=73ef60342f98.

Gas Prices

 Gas Prices 

Written By: Ava Guth

As many of us have or are earning our driving license, we are having to pay for gas. However, within the last year, gas prices have hit a seven year high. Though this doesn’t seem like a major problem to us now, it will be in the future as gas prices continue increasing every week. The main reason for these increased gas prices is because of high demand and constricted supply. 

Demand for gasoline is so high because there are many more drivers on the road. After a tremendous decline in the amount of vehicles on the road during Spring of 2020 during quarantine, the economy wasn’t prepared for the large amounts of gas needed to fuel the 290.14 billion miles being traveled by vehicles in the US. However, gas prices vary depending on which region of the country you are located. Since we are in Wisconsin our gas prices are increasing, but not as much as the West Coast and Rocky Mountain regions. Reason being for more tourists driving around the area and needing lots of fuel to get around those mountains. In the midwest we actually have some of the lowest gas prices compared to the rest of the country, even though ours are still increasing. 

The constricted supply is due to countries using their resources as an advantage. For example, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have only been agreeing to slight increases in oil production, even after America’s and India’s pleas for more. Recently, they have agreed to 400k barrels per day. Crude oil is also known as petroleum which explains the name of the OPEC. However, crude oil prices are also increasing and the US stockpile of oil is at a historical low, at 1.03 billion barrels of oil. 

Even though gas prices in other areas of the country may not be important to you now, the entire economy will suffer from it. So even though we have free lunches at school and such, the opportunity cost is we are having to pay more for living expenses like fuel for our cars. Plus, with some of you going to college out of state, these rising gas prices may affect your wallet more than here at home. In the near future, be aware that gas prices are something that you will be dealing with as we become adults and keep in mind to manage your money and living expenses well enough to not have to worry about this rising problem.

Works Cited

Kiersz, Andy. “3 Reasons Why Gas Prices Are so High Right Now.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 25 Nov. 2021, www.businessinsider.com/why-are-gas-prices-so-high-right-now-3-reasons-2021-10.

“U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis.” Retail Gasoline Prices Rose across the United States in 2021 as Driving Increased - Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=50758.

“Vehicle Miles Traveled.” FRED, 24 Jan. 2022, fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TRFVOLUSM227NFWA.