Community Development
Student Resources2010 Student Congress on Economic Issues
Minneapolis Public Schools—Learning Center for Economics
Minneapolis Rotary
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
University of Minnesota Department of Applied Economics Minnesota Council on Economic Education
St. Paul Campus
University of Minnesota
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Participating High Schools
Edison, Henry, North, Roosevelt, South, Southwest and Washburn
2010 Results
(winning team from each topic):
- Question One
Team Two: Southwest/Roosevelt/Edison - Question Two
Team Two: North/Roosevelt/Edison - Question Three
Team Three: Roosevelt/Henry
2010 Economic Congress Questions
Question One
What should Evan do?
Evan wants further education after high. He will choose between a 4 year college and 4 year trade school. He projects expenses at $5,000 a year beyond what he has saved. The best thing for Evan to do, evaluating both personal and financial issues, (i.e., Net Present Value, risks, personal desires, projected income, etc.) is:
TEAM ONE: South/ Henry
Go to school by taking out a loan. The $20,000 he will need must be paid back after he graduates. The interest rate is (5.9%) and he will have 10 years to repay.
TEAM TWO: Southwest/Roosevelt/Edison
Work for two years at a full-time job. He can save $10,000.00 per year living at home with his parents and then he could attend school without taking out a loan and living on a tight budget.
TEAM THREE: Washburn/North
Work part-time while going to school part-time. Evan figures he could still graduate by using this method and have some financial flexibility.
Question Two
Given the competing goals of: 1) access, 2) cost-effectiveness and 3) quality in a well-designed health care system, which model is most effective?
TEAM ONE: Southwest/Henry
A free market with minimum governmental interference.
TEAM TWO: North/Roosevelt/Edison
Government-administered single-payer insurance with mandates on cost and quality.
TEAM THREE: South/Washburn
A hybrid system with moderate public insurance subsidizes and
regulations regarding quality and access.
Question Three
The value of the U.S. dollar on the world markets has significant ramifications on the growth of the U.S. economy and wealth of Americans.
Policy-makers have a choice in deciding whether to pursue policies that help strengthen the value of the dollar (high exchange value), weaken the value of the dollar (low exchange value), or leave the dollar’s value to float freely (no explicit policy targeted to affect the dollar’s value) on the world currency markets.
Considerable controversy exists on which of these policies is best for Americans and American business.
TEAM ONE: North/South/Edison
Maintaining a strong dollar in the world’s markets is in the best interest of both U.S. business and Americans. U.S. policy-makers should target policies that promote a strong U.S. dollar.
TEAM TWO: Southwest/Washburn
A weak dollar in the world’s markets is in the best interest of both U.S. business and Americans. U.S. policy-makers should target policies that promote a weak U.S. dollar.
TEAM THREE: Roosevelt/Henry
Position III: It is in the best interest of both U.S. based business and Americans to allow the dollar to float freely on international markets. U.S. policy-makers should not target the value of the dollar in their policy decisions, but allow the dollar’s value to float freely on the international markets.
