[Economics Thread] Moe Money, Moe Problems

[Fred Castellum]

 

Oh look it’s a thread about economics! What?! Economics on a tech forum? Pfft why such a boring topic I’ve already got school for that!
 
Why? Because things like finance and economics are invaluable to understanding how our economy works. You will inevitably have to handle your own finances in the future if you already haven’t. I believe a good comprehension of economics is invaluable because it directly affects you and can steer the country's economy in the future(Educated Decisions are of course better than Uneducated Decisions).
 
Purpose
The purpose of this thread is educate people about the subject of economics, because I find knowledge on the topic invaluable due to the fact it directly affects everyone. @Vitalius and myself will try to put the topics of a discussion in a informative and entertaining format(please spare us if we fail in this regard).
 
I hope to learn more about economics while also spreading knowledge on the subject. Hopefully others will also learn something or better yet develop a interest on the subject themselves, maybe even teach others. I wish everyone a successful financial future!
 
How this thread operates
This thread is first and foremost a place for sharing economical and financial knowledge, discussion on topics related to anything monetary is welcome. Any kind of debate here must be strictly educational, arguments are not welcome here.
 
A topic of discussion will be posted on every Sunday(If my schedule isn't overflowing that is), naturally we’ll be starting with the areas that are intrinsic for learning about the more advanced topics in economics.

Everything basic from Microeconomics to Macroeconomics will be discussed along with more advanced stuff such as Personal Finance Economics and International Economics.
 
Topics will be archived below for easy access.
 
Rules
1. As usual following the forum’s CoC is of the utmost importance!
2. Keep things educational and stay open-minded, agree to disagree if you have to. Don’t let disagreements brew into arguments.
3. Debates are welcome but please keep them within the (10 Commandments of Rational Debate).
4. Feel free to talk about your financial endeavors but do no post any personal information.
5. Do not talk about Linus having a Lambo this is not the place for that kinda of conversation.

 
Table of Contents Archive
 
Beginner
A Introduction to Economics
 
Intermediate
 
Advanced
 
Economical Member Tagging
@CatCloud @BashZeStampeedo @Daegun @Tokuninashi @Jaybird @wolfgang @TheGingerKid @STRMfrmXMN @Sharif @MeDownYou @EMRF @LoneRangerS @themaniac @SirNumbers @tobben

[Fred Castellum]

A Introduction to Economics

Economics? What is it? Lets start off with what it's not! Economics isn't the study of money or how to get rich, however understanding economics can certainly help you to obtain money. You hear economics being linked to the study of the stock market but it's not the study of the stock market! It may appear that the economics is the study of complicated tables, charts, statistics, and the economy(duh) and it is! However at it's core economics is the study of people and their choices. Economics is the study of wealth and human behavior when one wants to fulfill his/her's needs and wants.

Economics is a high school graduate weighing his/her options on whether to go to college or begin working and how that'll effect his/her income in the future, economics is a company looking at it's options to increase profits and fill consumer needs, economics is the government deciding if it should step into hyperinflation to fight back growing debt. Economists would want to know if you'd still buy a certain brand of toothpaste if the price on them had rose by $4 per tube. The essence of economics is trying to understand how people and groups of people behave in certain situations to fulfill their needs when they have a limited supply of resources at their disposal.

The study of the production and consumption of goods, how it is done and why it is done. Do you ever wonder why the prices of food and other basic commodities spike or dip in correlation with the prices of oil? Why are economists and politicians worried when other countries are on the verge of bankruptcy? Any phenomena that has to do with the production, consumption, and exchange of goods with any monetary value can be explained through economics. Scarity, Microeconomics, Marcoeconmics, and Supply and Demand are all terms you will be familiar with when studying economics, we'll cover this later.

Dismal Science is something that economics is often referred as, a study of certain aspects of society. To study all these things, we make the assumption that people will focus on the actions they have to take to fulfill their self-interests. We assume that individuals will use rational thinking in their journey to fulfill their unlimited wants and needs. Humans have a unlimited amount of wants but a limited amount of resources, lets find out how they to will juggle their resources for the purpose of fulfulling their wants and needs! I quote the famous economist Alfred Marshall(1890) on his take on economics to finish off this topic "A study of man in the ordinary business of life. It enquires how he gets his income and how he uses it. Thus, it is on the one side, the study of wealth and on the other and more important side, a part of the study of man".

Thank you for investing your valuable time to read this snippet! I hope the opportunity cost was worth it and that you tune in next week for more!

[wyattzx]

Apologies for such a poor quality post, but this thread is intimidating. .-.

[PillowSmoke]

Is this the thread you were talking about making ages ago, but never got around doing it?

[Fred Castellum]

Is this the thread you were talking about making ages ago, but never got around doing it?

Indeed and I have delivered, let's stay on topic eh?

[STRMfrmXMN]

There are a few economic topics I've always wondered about:

 

How does one get good credit at a young age with little employment history? I'm looking into purchasing a car soon so this is relevant to myself and really anybody with bad/no credit.

 

Is raising the minimum wage in the US economically possible without making vital sacrifices to the US economy such as hours employed and number of people employed? 

 

WTF is a 401k...?

[Swndlr]

Are we allowed to talk stock market?

[themaniac]

thanks, and also thanks @TheGingerKid for finally getting @MyInnerFred to make this and i will read this tomorrow 

[themaniac]

Are we allowed to talk stock market?

yeah

[Fred Castellum]

Are we allowed to talk stock market?

As a stock trader, of course! 

 

Stocks exist because of economics!

[TheKDub]

Apologies for such a poor quality post, but this thread is intimidating. .-.

 

Agreed ^

 

And I wonder how linus manages to pay 8 people, and then himself as well, and still afford his lambo, when he only has youtube as an income source...

[KemoKa]

Aaaaaaaaand that intro is why I dropped out of AP Ec.

[Fred Castellum]

Apologies for such a poor quality post, but this thread is intimidating. .-.

It's only intimidating if you think it's intimidating! Economics is actually quite interesting, it's the subject that can turn you into a financial detective! 

 

There are a few economic topics I've always wondered about:

 

How does one get good credit at a young age with little employment history? I'm looking into purchasing a car soon so this is relevant to myself and really anybody with bad/no credit.

 

Is raising the minimum wage in the US economically possible without making vital sacrifices to the US economy such as hours employed and number of people employed? 

 

WTF is a 401k...?

Haha one at a time ok? 

 

You don't need employment history to build credit, the simplest way to start building credit is to apply for a secure credit card. 

Refer to Investopedia's guide here!

 

As for your raising minimum wage question. Yes it is possible however it requires the economy to meet certain criteria's. How many hours do people work already on average? How many people are currently employed or unemployed? What is the state of the economy? Is the dollar strong or weak? Many factors play into the outcome of your question. We'll cover inflation and minimum wage down the line.  

[-CLASSIFIED-]

well done , this only took you like 3 months to throw up ;P 

 

rather intriguing topic however 

[Fred Castellum]

Aaaaaaaaand that intro is why I dropped out of AP Ec.

You don't know what your missing out bud! The opportunity cost(The loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.) of not learning about economics is a hard to see by existing dent to your financial future.

 

Give a topic of discussion or two a read when you have will ya? Maybe you'll learn a little bit here and there.  

 

The little added bonus is it'll make you smarter or at least make you feel smarter haha.

[Bordermick]

I love how I just finished studying for an Economics test that is tomorrow, and then I saw this thread.

[STRMfrmXMN]

I love how I just finished studying for an Economics test that is tomorrow, and then I saw this thread.

Now you can ALL THE MONEY

[KemoKa]

You don't know what your missing out bud! The opportunity cost(The loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.) of not learning about economics is a hard to see by existing dent to your financial future.

 

Give a topic of discussion or two a read when you have will ya? Maybe you'll learn a little bit here and there.  

I know, it just intimidates people when it's given to you in one go, as it was in my class. I prefer the line-upon-line, precept-upon-precept method.

[Fred Castellum]

well done , this only took you like 3 months to throw up ;P 

 

rather intriguing topic however 

I'm still not satisfied with my introduction, but it doesn't matter now since it's already been posted. 

Here's to hoping I learn to improve my discussion posts later on.

 

I know, it just intimidates people when it's given to you in one go, as it was in my class. I prefer the line-upon-line, precept-upon-precept method. 

Don't worry, I won't be speeding through a textbook of definitions in a single week haha. If you think there are any ways to improve the way the topics are written when I post them please do let me know. 

[skyress3000]

I have to admit I don't really know much about economics, but I kinda want to get into making basic stock buy/sell programs (I like coding, AI, and money...). Does anybody have any good links for getting started with this kind of thing? (theory or implementation, I need both)

[Trik'Stari]

My theory on finances:

 

Avoid loans whenever possible. Be patient, save your money, and buy things when you can actually afford them. Credit is a trap (meant to make those who provide it, richer than you), nothing more.

[STRMfrmXMN]

My theory on finances:

 

Avoid loans whenever possible. Be patient, save your money, and buy things when you can actually afford them. Credit is a trap (meant to make those who provide it, richer than you), nothing more.

Well if you're going into a university in the USA I would imagine it to be pretty much impossible to avoid loans...

[Trik'Stari]

Well if you're going into a university in the USA I would imagine it to be pretty much impossible to avoid loans...

I did say "whenever possible". I plan on paying off my student loan as soon as possible. I hope to have it paid off in at least 3-5 years.

[-CLASSIFIED-]

My theory on finances:

 

Avoid loans whenever possible. Be patient, save your money, and buy things when you can actually afford them. Credit is a trap (meant to make those who provide it, richer than you), nothing more.

meanwhile i have a $7500 0% interest loan .... 

[Trik'Stari]

meanwhile i have a $7500 0% interest loan .... 

Indeed you might. But how long before you pay that loan off, and how long before the next loan you get is more than 0% interest?