Credit

This week in Econ class we have been learning all about credit. We have learned everything from what to look for in a credit card to how a credit score is configured. The most surprising thing that I learned this week is that there is good debt.  Good debt is when you cannot afford to pay for something you are in debt but you will gain money on it later on. A prime example of good debt is higher education. A lot of people cannot finance for college on their own and must take out a student loan. A student loan is similar to credit because you are using someone else's money to pay for something--in this case college-- and will pay them back with interest.  Higher education is good debt because a college degree will often get you a better, high paying job than you would get without the degree. In this way, you receive money on the debt of the student loans because in the long run you receive more money than you owe. The topic of financing higher education is a good topic for us to discuss as highschoolers preparing to go to college.

Net Neutrality 101

I read an article on www.savetheinternet.com called Net Neutrality 101. We briefly discussed this issue in class. Net neutrality is how we currently use the internet. We pay for the internet from our internet provider and are allowed to visit any website we want to while we are online. However this system is in danger.  The companies that provide us with internet access want to charge extra fees so that websites will load properly and so that online applications will work. This is the opposite of net neutrality which means open and free access to any websites and applications.  The internet providers want to the owners of certain websites more money in order to have their website operate properly. This fees will trickle down and affect us. If Verizon charges Netflix more money to provide service for the website, then Netflix will charge customers more to cover the cost. This is unfair. We already pay a lot to these companies for internet and other services we should not have to pay extra costs to use websites that should be offered to us for free.  The destruction of net neutrality will have damaging effects on the economy. Some internet based companies will go out of business and customers will be unhappy.

http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-101

Banking

This week in economics we have learned all about banking. We received banking cards and opened checking accounts. We have a sheet where we record all of our withdrawals and deposits. We also learned how to write checks in order to pay bills. I think that this is really helpful. This way we will be prepared for what our future will soon be. Right now, we as students usually do not have to go to the bank often and usually are parents take care of the bills. By learning all of these money skills we will be prepared to live on our own and spend our money wisely. In today's world, many people do not know how to properly balance their check books and how to use money wisely. I think that is good that we are be taught how to be fiscally responsible.