Click one of following links: minimum wage, mezcal, black market. What was your selection about? Give an example of a way of economic thinking from your selection. What "lesson" did you learn from the selection?
24 Comments
Jen Galasso
1/28/2014 02:07:34 pm
I listened to the section about minimum wage. There is constantly a debate over the current value of minimum wage. About 100 years ago there was no worry about controlling the amount of money each employee received. There was a larger worry regarding the danger of illness caused by long hours and unsafe conditions at work. There was an attempt to settle this with the Bakery Act that was put into place in New York because of the high demand for baked goods. The Supreme Court originally stated that the government cannot control the actions of employers and employees. When the Great Depression hit, new laws were put into play to allow more people to be employed. As a part of the recovery plan, FDR raised wages and cut hours by getting businesses to support the Blue Eagle; if they did not agree to this, they were socially ostracized and lost a great deal of customers.
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Zoe Alfaro
1/29/2014 01:46:43 am
I learned that the minimum wage is still controversial. The minimum wage is California is $8.00 and it will be increasing in July to $9.00 per hour. This is good for the workers, but is it good for the economy and the business owners? Can the government tell the business owners how much to pay? They can pay the minimum or they can decide to pay higher than minimum wage. This argument about minimum wage started 100 years ago because people were working long hours and there were not set rules. The Great Depression hit and President Roosevelt tried to make a rule called the NRA. The National Recovery Act. He wanted more people to go back to work by reducing work hours and increasing the pay. Businesses hung the Blue Eagle in their window if they followed the idea. Now looking at today, I think the minimum wage is good to keep everything equal so workers are treated fairly.
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Maria Corona
1/29/2014 06:17:26 am
For many years the minimum wage in CA has not changed even though many have tried to do something about it but now Obama is rising it from $8.00 to $9.00 to any type of jobs no matter what people do for a living. Even though many industries and larger companies don't want to pay their employees more then what they all ready pay them but some are against it saying that the government cant force them to rise there hourly payment since they are the ones paying the employees not the government. This will continue to be a problem since business will not crack on having the right to pay what they think is just to there employees this has been going on since the past 100 years since people are always working long hours or over time and have not been paid for. Like President Obama, President Roosevelt also tried to make some changes such as the NRA but it wasn't taken very seriously at the time being but I think that it is good for pay to continue to rise so that people get equal and just pays for the work that they do within and out of their daily working hours.
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Miguel Garcia
1/29/2014 10:40:18 am
Listening to the section concerning the minimum wage, one can tell it has been a controversial/hot topic of the past century. Not only for the politicians and law makers, but for the people who actually work and get paid these wages. FDR was really proactive in his efforts to activate the economy again after the depression. His idea was to have employees work less hours, and gain more money. He wanted more people to have jobs, and with the extra money, boost the economy again. He did not have much luck, he his NRA was shot down because it was deemed unconstitutional. The NRA would have boosted people morals and wallets, giving the invisible hand a clean entry. People want to work to satisfy their needs or their families needs. The more money they get, the better. And if the minimum wage is raised, the competition for cheap labor gets harder. This is bad for employers, but good for employees. I have learned that minimum wage is an extremely relevant topic, and has always been like that since the depression. It will most likely be like that, in order to fix the economy.
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Miguel Alfaror
1/29/2014 11:47:14 am
I listened to the selection about the black market. In this selection the black market for credit cards and process of acquiring one was discussed. This was brought up because during the holiday season Target reported to have been hacked and an estimated 11 million accounts have been compromised. To get a credit card on the black market you have to be vouched for by 2 moderators on forums to even access the websites that sell credit cards to make sure that the person buying a card is not a type of law enforcement. Sellers also have to prove that they can conduct business honestly and are reviewed before they can start selling cards. The credit cards sell for around 30 to 45 dollars depending on the type of card they are and are usually bought in bulk since they can only be used once. The way the cards are acquired is by “skimming” or the more popular way of hacking into banks or businesses. In the Target situation it is believed that 4 to 5 black market credit cards sellers are involved so that they can control how many cards are out in the market so that the supply meets the demand. Supply and demand takes a huge part of this because now a huge amount of cards are in the hands of 4 to 5 sellers who are now making sure that there aren’t too many cards out at once so the price of one card does not diminish from 35 dollars to 5 dollars. Also there is a negative externality to the original owners of the cards because their card is the one being used to make large purchases. I learned that people can get a hold of my credit card number through “skimming” and that banks and that stores where I make purchases with them are not one-hundred percent secure from hackers.
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Julia Eyer
1/29/2014 12:39:35 pm
I chose to listen to the NPR segment about the "credit card black market." Today, we all enjoy the simplicity of credit cards and making easy payments without thinking twice. Unfortunately, although there is a great benefit in using "plastics" instead of carrying around large amounts of cash, there is an incredible amount of personal information included with these cards. Social security, telephone numbers, addresses and all other financial information. Much like the other failing elements of our society, our privacy and reliance on the credit card companies is quickly fading as the number of security breeches raise. According to the segment, is is likely that many of the hacks made on credit cards, are done completely unknown by the card holder. I learned in the interview that the more we accept "simple security" into our lives, the more our personal freedoms are taken away. With the power of incentives, there is a growing population of internet and credit card hackers, constantly learning new methods of thievery. People today are more willing to do illegal activities to make money, instead of working hard at a career everyday. The incentives of quick pay for little to no work greatly outweighs all other options. It is sad to see this same growing trend in many other aspects of our society as well.
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André de Limur
1/29/2014 02:14:21 pm
I listened to the NPR segment on the black market credit card trade scandal. It was quite interesting to discover just how easy it is to access anyone’s information that is meant to be especially secure. It makes one think twice about using such means of monetary spending. With the simple click of a button, millions of credit card numbers can be exchanged with little thought to the people that may be affected down the line. With the right shady recommendations, anyone from an average Joe to a seedy criminal can access your personal information online. With the low cost of only $40 entire bank accounts can be sold for pennies on the dollar.
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Dayanna Carlos
1/30/2014 01:42:40 am
My selection was about stolen credit card information and how online businesses have to prove to their customers that they are an honest business. Businesses spend millions of dollars to prove this. This is a form of advance in our economy because a lot of people are starting to buy more things online more than the regular stores because they sell them at a more affordable price, the disadvantage about this is that you cant see the item before you buy it but you get it for a cheaper price. What i learned from my selection is that i should be more careful when i buy things online because without even noticing we sometimes agree to things that we don't even read and they can also steal our credit cards and be charged by another persons purchase.
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pepe gallagos
1/30/2014 04:41:19 am
for many years people have strived to try and raise the minimume wage. obama has tried and is slowly raising it. as some bigger companies that dont want to raise what they are paying people think that the goverment shouldnt be able to tell them anything because they are not the ones that are paying them there for should not have and say in what to pay.this problem has been around for ever. past presidents like roosevelt tried to fight for higher pay for the people who worked long hors for little pay. this wil continue to be a problem. the minimun wage is rising though so thats good.
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Sandra Arroyo
1/30/2014 05:17:31 am
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Ruben Beltran
1/30/2014 06:33:56 am
I listened to the "credit card black market," and i have had thoughts about the stolen credit card situation. We have a desire to buy things at different stores with just using a credit card, but there are other people who have a desire to use steel credit card numbers, hack into different peoples credit card info and buy whatever they want for their own needs. As i was listening to this situation i also heard that there are different ways to steel these credit card numbers. The best way was to use this device that lets you scan through any personal credit card info from anyone, slide a blank card through it and you automatically have money which is basically steeling. Who do they steal from? Well first of they steal info and money from any persons credit card number. They also steal from markets and stores by buying products and in the end the company of that place has to deal with the stolen items. This situation effects any type of economy because the people are more afraid of using their credit cards and might rather use plane money instead. As our technology advances there are people out there who figure out ways to use that power of technology and use it for bad habits. We dont need to stop the advancement of technology but rather to find more safer and secure in order for people to feel like they actually have a private place to secure their info.
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Gatlin Blakeley
1/30/2014 08:41:09 am
I listened to the NPR talk-show on the history of the minimum wage. The origin of minimum wage goes back over 100 years ago. At anytime before this there was no set price that had to be paid in order to work, you would either accept the pay you got or not work their. This all began to change as bakery's became unsafe places to work due to the amount of flower in the air that would burst into flames along with other unsafe work conditions. The Bakery Act was initiated in order to create a safer work environment for employees, but failed to set a minimum wage. After this point the US went into the Great Depression where Roosevelt attempted to get people working and set a "minimum wage" by lower work hours so more people could work, but also raising pay so they wouldn't loose money. This statement by Roosevelt started to create a minimum wage standard by itself. Although it wasn't technically a minimum wage yet, companies competition began to set standards for wages; bringing more and more people back to work. While the supreme court keeps shutting down any idea of minimum wage presented to them, FDR keeps fighting back. And FDR's fight ended up in going in a very good direction leading to a federal minimum wage.
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Jackson Graff
1/30/2014 09:08:33 am
After listening to the NPR segment, "Inside The Credit Card Black Market", my view on the ways we spend money and take care of our personal information has made a complete 180 degree turn. I caught my self second guessing swiping my card at the local food market as well as looking in the machine at the gas station just incase there were any devices that could highjack my information. Knowing that my credit card number could be out in the world floating around from website to consumer really had me on edge. Throughout the broadcast they explained how the black market was not hard to find; it isn't some weird guy that you have to call and make an appointment with, to access the black market you can be sitting on your couch at home. The website that they went into deep detail about is not some junky two cent site with with messed up formats and non reliable careers, no this website was set up just like any other "you sell" market places on there, the reporter even compared it to Ebay or Amazon. The business side of this website seemed to work well, sellers would sample products in this case stolen credit cards, to other well know sellers or buyers and in turn would get a review which would help them start their business. Customers can buy in bulk, ask for better shipping, give feedback, as well as discounts if a longterm customer. All these things make a complete successful normal online business. To this people ask the question, "why not" fast quick money with no tax, little to none work, and all profit. This market is still going strong and putting it to a halt is no where in sight.
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Delaney Creswell
1/30/2014 09:55:21 am
On the topic of the black market credit card scam, it began with the issue over the Target credit fraud atrocity. There is now the ability to sell and purchase credit cards on a specific website where you have to prove to references of the company that you are not an outstanding citizen, and an actual criminal to be accepted to this cite. The business of selling credit card information runs exactly like eBay and Amazon, and on an economic standpoint both of those websites have flourished. The use of these examples as a foundation has become a great tool for this illegal website. The list of items on these websites are various credit card/security information where you pay a fee for the use of the credit card and then you go online and purchase what it is that you wish. The hackers are able to obtain numerous amounts of cards but due to the “supply and demand” theory, they withhold a certain amount until the public needs more cards on the market. I’ve learned that the criminals who put a magnetic strip skimmer into various locations where people swipe their cards are able to receive the card information without affecting the current purchase the person is making for themselves. Most places being used for credit card skimmers are public areas such as banks, retail stores, and other public locations that get a large mass of people in a short amount of time. Because of the fact that banks automatically know as soon as a purchase is made whether or not it’s fraudulent, the credit card that is bought is immediately canceled as soon as that purchase is made. Sometimes the purchase doesn’t work, therefore; the card numbers are bought in bulk where the scammer can use as many cards as they want if one doesn’t work. This ensures money being given to the initial hackers and also the scammer who uses the card gets their purchase with no issue. I’ve learned that it is extremely simple for hackers to find credit card information and use it as much as they want in a single purchase, and then further resell that purchase for what money they wish to receive. As technology further advances, the hackers have an easier time to obtain the information, and that the person purchasing things need to be careful on the locations they go. However, it is nearly impossible to prevent credit fraud in this age, and the only preventative measure is the bank to return the money and issue a new card.
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Gabriela Aguayo
1/30/2014 10:50:13 am
The topic I chose was on Minimum Wage and the history of how it is started; the bakeshop act is what started to make a move on the regulations on the contracts with in the businesses. The employees from a bakery shop in the state of New York wanted a better contract but when this act got to the supreme court the court said no because man had the right to negotiate with other man in contracts. But the president at the time Roosevelt was worried about their economic status and their conditions so he made an act witch would help the employees, he made a campaign that was voluntary if the business accepted this act they would be able to hang a government poster with the blue eagle representing patriotism. It was a sort of a "Political Bulling"
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Ingrid De Santiago
1/30/2014 12:43:30 pm
I listened to the section "The Birth Of The Minimum Wage" which spoke about a debate 100 years ago wether to have minimum wage. Before minimum wage employers would pay their employees what they wanted to, and the employees worked long hours throughout the week. Before a fixed wage was introduced to all businesses there was The Bake Shop Act which was meaning to enforce improvement in working conditions but failed to be passed by the Supreme Court. Roosevelt worked to approach the situation of working conditions in another manner. He set a maximum amount of working hours a week for employees, this would result in businesses hiring more people to work which was his intention. But people didn't want to earn 30% less than they used to, since now they worked less time. That was when Roosevelt set a minimum wage for the hour so people would in turn earn the same amount as they used to. When businesses participated with the new change they would be given a picture of a blue eagle to put up in their shops or building to demonstrate their patriotism.
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Lyndsee Boden
1/30/2014 01:29:48 pm
I listened to the section about Minimum Wage. Minimum wage has been a huge controversial topic in the last 100 years. A even bigger topic in the last century. Minimum wage is said to be raised to $9.00 in this coming July. With raising minimum wage it would help out employees a lot, but would not help out employers as much. Part of the blue eagle program is cutting back hours and raising the pay. FDR was a big supporter in raising minimum wage and helping out the economy.
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Kyle DeLima
1/30/2014 01:38:44 pm
For our Economics blog I decided to listen about the credit card black market, in essence, the podcast discussed the process of aquiring credit cards off of the black market. A contributing factor for their discussion lies within the most recent cyber network attack A.K.A "skimming" on Target, which left an upwards of 11 million accounts compromised. However Target is not the only victim of such attacks, more often than not other large scale businesses and banks must play a role in defending the credit security of their customers. To even remotely get close to gaining access to a credit card off the black market requires incredible patience, and a momentous amount of background checks just to confirm the one involved isn't affiliated with any type of law enforcement. After being reviewed and presently vouched by 2 moderators, card sellers have to be able to provide definitive evidence that they can conduct business honestly before they become within arms reach of stock. A cold and calculating as it may seem, the most beneficial externality in this situation is in regards to the businesses security systems, now knowing that even a large company such as Target can fall predator to the four to five black markets that took part in "skimming", other companies undoubtedly with make plans to up their own security least they have the same happen to them. I'll be quite honest in saying I don't learn much from this podcast, most information I had known previously, although one interesting factor I learned was the supply and demand of such cards, by keeping an ample demand going they limit the decline of the cards cost, remaining at 35 or so dollars a card instead of rapidly declining to a mere 5 dollars.
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1/30/2014 03:57:11 pm
I chose the black market selection where they guide you on how to get access to credit cards. According to the major retailer Target 40 million credit card informations had been stolen few weeks before Christmas. Recently there was a new confession saying that another 70 million accounts had been hacked. According to Adam Davidson and Zoe Chase the most common way to get access to credit cards is by "skimming" which is an item copying your card information and directly sends it to the criminal, who records it. They also guides you through the difficult way of how to get access to homepages where you can buy the card information; After being declared "criminal/trustful" by 2 criminals you get regristred. From there on you will enter the requred passwords and agree on all the rules you recieve to access the seller. On the webpage you will be able to buy credit card and other personal information. The cost of the cards will be between 30-50 dollars. Because of the vast supply of credit cards, and the restriction of one use the value of the information will decrease. My lesson from the black market selection, is that I have to be more careful with the use of my credit card, it is shocking how easily your information can end up on a website.
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Cori Calabi
1/30/2014 03:57:52 pm
I chose to listen to the selection about the credit card black market. This story discusses how hackers and scammers gain access to credit card numbers, security codes, expiration dates, and cardholder names through skimming at gas stations and ATMs and by taking advantage of the moment during a credit card transaction in which all the card's information is unencrypted and available for anyone to access and steal. Through online black market websites that are the shady equivalent to eBay, the hackers sell card information in bulk by the thousands of credit cards. The buyers of the card info then create new credit cards by encoding the information onto a new piece of plastic with a magnetic strip, just like copying a CD to your computer and then burning a new CD with the audio files. The info buyers employ people who take these new credit cards to stores where they buy expensive items that can easily be re-sold.
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Cori Calabi
1/30/2014 03:59:58 pm
Just to let you know, the link for the mezcal podcast wouldn't work. There was no "play" button, which is probably why no one did that story.
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Katie Begerow
1/31/2014 01:24:49 am
I listened to the section about minimum wage. A century ago, people were less worried with minimum wage than they were with improving work conditions. For example, bakeries were a dangerous work area and the Bakery Act was put into place to support bakeries and their workers, because of the high demand for baked goods. Then the Great Depression hit and FDR came into office. In order to try and begin to counteract the effects of the Depression, FDR created the presidents re-employment agreement in which they cut work hours, so more people could earn jobs. However, people were worried about the cuts they would receive in their pay so FDR raised their hourly wages. Additionally, FDR created the Blue Eagle in which businesses that did not agree to is were greatly criticized although it was not mandatory to support it. Government continues invlovment with act like the WPA and the others
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Spencer Pearson
2/2/2014 12:49:37 pm
I goofed.
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Alondra Diaz de Leon
2/6/2014 09:40:51 am
(Goof)
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