Economics Class

Hooligan's View

On April 18, I teach a microeconomics class. I have been teaching micro and macro for about two years now at Richland College in Richardson TX, just a convenient couple of miles from my office. I do so because I enjoy the subject and I enjoy the interaction with the students.

Economics permeates everyday life. For example, take benefit and cost analysis. I know I may be strange, or rather sick, but everything I do, whether subconsciously or otherwise, I assess benefit gained against costs lost. Time spent on working in the garden gives me tasty vegetables in the summer but consumes time I would otherwise spend with my wife. I can recover this lost time with her in the evening over a nice dinner using some of the greens I produce with my bare hands. Money used to purchase a flight to visit my parents gives me time to enjoy their company, since I live a distant 1800 miles from them, but is money I can not spend on retirement savings where I believe I’m in good standing and will probably have to work for life anyway. Resources like time and money, everyday items, are limited and must be used to maximize benefit lest they are wasted.

Productivity is a common theme. Production efficiency is an worthy target because if we hit it, we are prized with a good lifestyle. We get the “goods” for the least possible costs and leftovers we can use for producing other “goods”. Productivity gains mean we can have more with the same money giving us a higher standard of living than otherwise. This need for ever increasing productivity pushed to the limit will give us Eden, no work and all pleasure. Sounds like a great goal doesn’t it?

I start each class with the same question. “What economics occurred in your life today?” Since my students are primarily working young adults, I get answers like, “We had a layoff today” or “My Company was just bought out by a larger firm”. Oh, they also like to give the class daily reports on the price of gas. Later when they run out of personal examples they bring the newspaper to present the details of an interesting article on something like the price of steel or trials and woes of Martha Stewart. At the end of each course, many of the students comment that this question and answer session does bring economics, the subject, into focus as every day living. It is all around us.

Of course, there is more to life than economics, but by teaching this class I have a chance to share a little of what I have learned in the last 60 years with the my students and at the same time, and I know it sound trite, I learn a great deal just trying to stay current. I would not want my students to think economics was boring, now would I?