Are dominated by a few powerful companies, which have grown with the economy and rewritten the rules of competition. What are the economic and legal rules these Companies Live by . What has big Business Done for and to the consumer . Whatever happened to price competition . With the help of economic analyst richard gill, well examine these questions on this edition of economics u a. Im david schoumacher. Theres no business bigger than the auto business. If youve shopped for a car recently, this is a familiar sight. It looks like real competition, a variety of products at a variety of prices. But is what you see what you get . It was when you bought one of henry fords model ts. Henry ford didnt invent the car, and he didnt invent the assembly line, but he brought the two together and gave america its first massproduced and masspurchased car. Ford was an inventor and mechanic by trade, and no effort was spared to improve the car and to improve the process by which it was built. The tin l
That every american has a right to a job. Can the government guarantee that well never have another Great Depression . 1952. Dwight eisenhower prepares to take office as the first republican president since herbert hoover. How will he handle his first economic crisis . The torch has been passed to a new generation of americans. 1961. John kennedy has promised to get the country moving again. How will he keep his promise . Three president s three policies but one common resolve the government must never permit another Great Depression. Can we control our economy . Thats the story well investigate with the help of economic analyst richard gill on this edition of economics usa. Im david schoumacher. The 20 years after world war ii brought selfconfidence to american political economics. The lessons of depression and war convinced economists and politicians alike that the government could promote prosperity by manipulating taxes and spending. These continuing adjustments are called fiscal p
Which would we choose . Wilderness or Mineral Development . In 1939, one american in six was unemployed. By 1942, we were fighting a great war and living better than we had in years. How did we increase production of both guns and butter during world war ii . In 1978, a troubled textile industry was told to spend 2 billion combating brownlung disease. By 1980, the Supreme Court was asked to choose between saving lives or jobs and profits. How much is a life worth . Wilderness or minerals . Guns or butter . Jobs or safety . We always face choices. Resources and scarcity. Whats economics all about . With the help of economic analyst richard gill, well examine that question on economics usa. Im david schoumacher. Whats economics all about . There have always been theoretical answers to that question, but reality complicates the most elegant theories. Economics usa is about theory and reality in 20thcentury america, and how people and events have shaped economic decisions that affect our l
World war ii was over. The gis were home raising the roof, hoping to raise a family. How could they realize the American Dream, a home of their own . When foreign steelmakers were pricing americas largest steel mills out of the market, how could a minimill hope to compete . Baseball. For millions, a pastime. For a few, a paycheck. Why was this mans paycheck half a Million Dollars a year . A visit to a modern Shopping Center yields a bewildering display of goods and services, the products of a free market. Whos to say this is what we want or what we need . Markets do they meet our needs . Economic analyst richard gill will help us examine that question on economics usa. Im david schoumacher. The American Economy the sum total of what goes on in shopping malls, car dealers, supermarkets, stock exchanges, 7elevens, and gas stations all around the country. Millions of buyandsell decisions everday, trillions of dollars worth every year. And those decisions affect every part of our lives. Wh
But almost invisible element in our economic wellbeing, something we take for granted until it slows down. That happened in the 1970s. We had a blizzard of suggestions for dealing with productivity. How do we get more for less . With the help of analyst richard gill, well examine that question on economics usa. Im david schoumacher. Captioning made possible by the Annenberg Cpb project economists see the world in terms of supply and demand. Put simply, demand is the appetite to consume. Supply is the ability to produce. Productivity holds the supply side together. As long as productivity continues to improve, our standard of living continues to improve. This is the classic widget factory. This machine will put the stick in a deodorant tube. It if works, well have more deodorant and fewer hours of work putting tubes together. Thats productivity. American productivity has been an economic marvel of the industrial age. But by the late 1970s, our rate of productivity growth had slumped ala