Oil Project

This article is about new changes in oil production. After the big oil spill in 2010, many more rules have been set in place to help prevent any more damage to the environment. The United States approved a Royal Dutch Shell plan to drill for oil in five locations under the Gulf of Mexico. As we all know, gas prices have been rising. With the recent great recession, people are very cautious with how much they use their cars. I think this new oil plan will help the economy. It may not help the environment, but if more oil is pumped, there is more oil to sell, if there is more oil to sell, the prices will start decreasing and the demand will go up. Price, as a factor of demand, should be in a range that people find affordable. Consumers need to spend money to help raise the GDP. The law of demand tells us that when prices are too high, the demand goes down. This plan shows the government kicking in. A lot of money is being put into create these oil wells, and that is exactly what our economy needs. We need a constant flow of buying and selling to bring our economy back to health. I think this is the perfect project to help bring our economy back to life. The trade-off to drilling more oil and bring down prices is that if too much oil is pumped out and sold at low prices it could hurt the environment and eventually lead to more problems.

Elianah- lead author

Haley- lead researcher

Iram- secretary

Should the Decriminalization of Marijuana be the next move for our economy?

Our economy is still suffering from a recession with GDP still very low and Unemployment rates have hit an all-time high. Serious action needs to be taken in order to fix Americas’ economic problems and the decriminalization may be the solution to our problems. Studies show that if marijuana were to be legalized and to be taxed as much as tobacco and alcohol are there could be a potential revenue as high as $6.2 billion dollars annually. It was also estimated $7.7 billion per year in state and federal expenditures on prohibition enforcement would be saved. These numbers are staggering sand such cash flow would give our economy a huge boost and take the first step toward the expansion of our economy. Regulation of the product would eliminate the need for a black market and therefore would allow the purchases of marijuana be included in GDP. The elimination of the black market would also prevent Americans money from going out of our borders due to the fact most marijuana is purchased from out of the country. However there is some uncertainty around the elasticity of demand for the product due to those who engage in home cultivation. source: http://economics.about.com/od/incometaxestaxcuts/a/legalize_pot.htm

Will Noble, Andrew Velvin, Cameron Casey

Oil Prices Drop Below $100 a Barrel: Gas Continues to Go Up

An odd fact recently, is that gas prices continue to go up, but the price of the oil used to make gas goes down. Hawaii has the highest gas prices in the world still today, but unfortunately the heartland of the U.S. is catching up to Hawaii in gas prices. For example, Illinois’ average price for gas is $4. 32 for a gallon. Another example is the average gas price in Idiana. They have an average gas price of $4. 24. For the first time since March 16 the price of a barrel of oil was lower than one hundred dollars. Miraculously, oil prices have gone down. The oil price went down because there was lower consumer demand for gasoline and a concern about slowing global growth. The latest government measure of demand for gasoline in the U.S. shows that overall, drivers have cut back gas purchases by almost 2 percent in the past four weeks compared to a year ago. That kind of significant downward move in demand, coupled with rising stockpiles of oil in the U.S., mean prices of crude should be headed downward. Gasoline fell further after trade resumed, breaking technical levels. Total volume reached a record 240,000 lots.Brent crude settled down $5.06 to $112.57 a barrel. U.S. crude fell $5.67 to $98.21 a barrel, after touching as low as $97.50 a barrel.U.S. gasoline futures suffered the biggest daily drop since September 2008, with the June contract settling at $3.1228 a gallon, losing 25.69 cents, or 7.6 percent. It was the biggest loss in dollar terms since September 2008.Rising fuel costs this year have fueled calls by U.S. lawmakers to cut down on speculation in oil markets.

Commodities, U.S. Stocks Drop on Inflation

On May 11 commodities fell for the first time in three days. Following these commodities were silver and water. U.S. stocks retreated from London and Beijing because of the inflation they were having. This inflation in turn made Beijing and London raise their interest rates. The euro will be forced to restructure debt. The Bank of England Governor Mervyn King rose the cost of their pound value. He says that the inflation occurring in England remains uncomfortably high and that interest rates will more than likely rise. As prices grew in Germany and China, Poland unexpectedly increased its benchmark rate. Europe’s debt scared them and they weren’t too sure about their stocks. Even after the economy started to get better Europes’ stocks still decreased. Unfortunately for Europe, since it went into debt and had to recover, global rates will go up. Global rates always go up after state recovers. The pound gained against 11 of 16 major peers, rising 1.3 percent versus the euro and 0.7 percent versus the Swiss franc. The won appreciated versus all 16 major counterparts after South Korea’s unemployment rate fell more than economists estimated. The euro lost more than 1.3 percent of its dollar. The Euro is now a laggard in its environment.

Gas Prices

A big problem in our economy is our gas prices and is about to get worse. Prices are continuing to go up due to our necessity for oil. One way to help fix this problem is changing cars and how they run such as, electric cars. Cars that run on electricity definitely save money and also it is better for nature because it doesn’t pollute the air that we breathe and also the gas mileage is absolutely astonishing and is better than what you would get with gas. The average cost to drive twenty-five miles on an electric car is $1.03 while with a regular car that runs on gasoline gets an average twenty-five miles at $4.00 which is a difference of $2.97 which in the long run would save you a lot of money and would keep our air safe to breathe. The annual fuel cost for an electric vehicle is as low as $561 to $644. If we (The United States) all transformed to use electric cars the government could also benefit from this because they could save millions of dollars that they could use to pay off their debt instead of using it to buy oil. Overall everyone benefits from this because the government saves money as well as the people but also we protect ourselves from polluting the air which helps us live longer and live in a safer world and we can feel safe to breathe our own air.

Oil Spill in The Gulf

The Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico couldn’t have come at a worse time in our economy. This oil spill probably has to be the worst crisis besides the Debt that the government is in because gas prices and oil has been the main talk about how prices would go up and with this happening the prices will go even higher. This could also cause an energy crisis that we have been through before in the 1970s when we had to drill offshore. The chances for this to cause a long term affect in the coming decade is probable due to the fact that we were already in a crisis. This Oil Spill in the Gulf has also because other crises that has to do with our food intake. A lot of people like fish and other sea creatures. Also, it has decreased the tourism around this area and no one wants to live near or by the place where there was a spill in oil because the beach is no fun if all you can do is tan. Lastly, scientists are warning people that massive quantities of methane that are being spewed into the water could create dead zones where there is absolutely no oxygen and literally nothing lives in this region.

NFL Locks Out Economic Benefits

Due to the NFL lockout of the 2011-2012 season many workers could lose business along with their jobs. There are many people whose jobs and businesses depend on the NFL. It’s the 2,500 ticket-takers, janitors and other game-day employees at the Superdome in New Orleans, and the suburban dry cleaner who washes all their uniforms. It’s the receptionists and accountants for the New York Jets, and the high school band booster club that sells burgers and beer at Carolina Panthers games. It’s the Episcopal church that sells parking spots for Tennessee Titans games, the hotel across the street from the stadium in Houston and the ticket broker who opened a store facing Cowboys Stadium. And on and on it goes, across the communities of all 32 teams. If there is no 2011-2012 season then many jobs will be lost and many businesses will close. The bars and restaurants around the stadium depend mostly on game day dinners. Consumers don’t go to the stadium to eat unless there is as game. It is like a ripple affect. Sporting events help the communities in which they are held substantially, even the move of one player can change the economy around the community. Take a look at Lebron James, changing the economy for Miami and Cleveland with one move, Clearly better for Miami and hurting Cleveland. If one player can make this big of a difference could you imagine the difference having no NFL teams could make. If the NFL lock out continues the effects will to large for businesses around the sporting events to survive.