T HE P ENNSYLVANIA S TATE U NIVERSITY E CONOMICS A SSOCIATION P RESENTS :

T HE O PTIMAL B UNDLE
F ALL 2013:
WEEK OF

O CTOBER 3 RD

E DITOR : C OLE LENNON P RINT EDUCATION COORDINATOR C ONTRIBUTORS : B EN R OWLES , C ADY B OUCHER , C OLE L ENNON , L EAH G ALAMBA , R YAN S OSNADER

Upcoming Events: General Body Meeting: 10/03

BLS Jobless Claims Report: 10/03

PennStateEA.Weebly.com EA Homepage psueaeducation.blogspot.com Education Blog

OPERATION: DETROIT RESCUE

Detroit's declaration of bankruptcy on July 18th is now meeting a nationwide response. About 320 million dollars from the federal government will be deployed to reduce crime, revitalize infrastructure, and revamp housing. Nearly half of those funds will go toward demolishing buildings and redeveloping neighborhoods, while the remaining funds will go to projects such as repairing buses and creating public sector jobs. Private businesses, philanthropy groups, and state governments will assist in this effort. It represents a great start, but the city owes 18 billion dollars. More money is needed, as extraordinary problems require extraordinary responses.CL
CHECK OUT THE ARTICLES:
BLOOM.BG/1H7SXCK ; BIT.LY/18VYOK8

Detroit may sleep a little sounder than this tonight.

DEFLATING THE HELIUM MARKET

As of October 7th, the global market for helium could take a dive unless American politicians can come to an agreement. In 1925 a reserve was set up to supply inflation for airships. This reserve remained relevant through development of nuclear weapons, but all of the helium was sold in the mid-1990s in order to help pay off the $1.4 billion debt that the reserve caused. Now that the debt is paid off, federal funding for the reserve will be cut if an agreement is not made. With helium demand growing at 5% per year, will other nations such as Russia and Australia be able to pick up the slack?CB

Up, Up, and Away with Helium Funding?

Check out the Article: econ.st/18sIOYy

C OULD US CREDIT RATING FALL ?

U.S. Treasury Bonds, often considered one of the safest possible investments, could lose credibility in the eyes of ratings agencies due to the recent threat of a government shutdown. Standard & Poors, a rating agency, made headlines in 2011 by lowering the U.S.s rating to AA+ from AAA, the top rating. A further drop is possible due to the recent turmoil involving Congress inability to pass a budget. However, ratings agencies like Standard & Poors lost credibility due to the financial crisis, and their word is not as respected as it once was. For now, U.S. Treasuries are still considered very safe by many economists.RS
Check out the article: cnnmon.ie/19SXDRo

We may be hearing from them soon.

P ROTECT THIS HOUSE

A 2004 report estimated that 850,000 people are on the waiting list for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, which helps low income families pay rent. The waiting list suggests that not enough federal housing expenditures are directed to helping the poor. Section 8, while more efficient than comparable federal housing initiatives, often does not provide enough support for families to move to higher income areas that often bring better jobs and education. A chief goal of Section 8 is to help families make such a move to lower poverty areas, but what effect does that have on the area that they leave? BR
This is a long waiting list.

C HECK

OUT THE ARTICLE : WAPO . ST /17 KW BV O

A N U NEQUAL P IECE OF THE A MERICAN P IE

For the first time in five years the average American's household income has ceased falling and the poverty rate has stopped rising. While these new statistics are encouraging, they are soured by the fact that 95% of these gains have gone to the wealthiest one percent of the population. America has by far the largest wealth inequality and the lowest social mobility of any Western country, and those contrasts seem to be growing more with every generation. Possible reasons for inequality in the US could be inefficiency in business or disparity in early education. Regardless of the cause, if something does not change soon the outcome will not be favorable for anyone.LG
The current piece may not be big enough.

Check out the Article:

econ.st/19iMsCl