Economics

All the hubbub about the economy lately has reignited my interest in economics. I'm probably paying too close attention in an election year, but the media keeps yammering on and my head keeps trying to make sense of everything coming my way. So, I've decided to take a foray into history and try and see if there are any correlations with current events. I'll probably be relying heavily on Wikipedia for this endeavor, but I may bring in a few other sources as I have time. Here's a rough outline of what I'd like to look at over the next few weeks:

• Current Trends and Policy
  • Consumer Debt
  • Government Debt
  • Government Budgets
  • Trade Deficit
  • Immigration / Outsourcing / Non-Immigrant Work Visas
  • Effect of an Election on the Economy
• Past Causes of Economic Downturn (including the Great Depression)
  • Debt
  • Inequality of Wealth and Income
  • Business
  • Deficit spending
  • Trade decline
  • US Federal Reserve
• Causes and Effects of Inflation

The goal of all of this is to connect the dots, envision what could happen today, and what to do about it. Ambitious, I know, but at the very least I'll be clearing the cobwebs out of those old high school history and economics knowledge.