Chapter 22

This is the last chapter in the course.  I hope you have enjoyed the course and are saddened to see it end.  What concepts or theories did you find most interesting and/or useful?  Is there an area where you changed your thinking? I enjoyed the course and gained useful knowledge that I can chat/debate with my friends and family about. I am not saddened to see it end though because I am ready to move on to the next semester! I enjoyed Chapter 20 and the information of Income Inequality and Poverty. I was unaware of how much inequality exists in our country,  and it was interesting to read about the measurements of inequality. I also enjoyed the material I learned in Chapter 12, The Design of the Tax System. This Chapter changed my way of thinking with the Ability to Pay Principles and Benefits Principle and our overall tax system. Chapter 6, Supply, Demand and Government Policies was the Chapter that I learned the most about supply and demand. Learning how to blog was pretty fun too!

Chapter 21

What did you find most confusing? 

The Theory of Consumer Choice - The concept of indifference curves was hard to understand at first, but I feel comfortable with the explanations and the relationship between the indifference curves.  I would say the four properties of the indifference curves and the differences between them were confusing for me. 

What do you think about the concept of indifference curves in the context of budget constraints? 

It is an interesting concept that the slope of budget constraints equals the relative price of goods. But overall makes sense to me.

Does the concept of indifference curves add to your understanding of demand curves? 

Yes, you buy what you can pay for and sometimes you have to choose one product over another. Which effects the demand curve of markets.

The existence of prices and income clearly leads to budget constraints.  Do you think about trade-offs for large purchases (ie a car payment versus rent/mortgage)? I do not think about trade offs right now, I am paying the bills and getting through college. I have no car payment or mortgage payment. Vehicle is paid off and I rent. 

How about small purchases?  Trade offs for smaller purchases, good healthy food for a healthy body, entertainment for quality of life.

Does timing matter (probably you aren't purchasing both a car and a house at the same time)?  

Timing matters, typically a consumer is not going to purchase high dollar items at the same time and will wait until one is affordable. Budget timing. 

How does the concept of indifference curves inform your thinking about purchases? To be honest it probably will not effect and or inform my thinking when I am making purchases.

Chapter 20

Income Inequality and Poverty

The U.S. Income Inequality is measured when you divide families by income into five groups.  In 2011 the bottom fifth of all families received 3.8% of all income and the top fifth received 48.9%. The Top 5 percent made 21.3% of all the income, leaving 26% of the remaining income to be distributed by the second, and third, and fourth income groups. When comparing to inequality around the world the comparison can be hard to measure because there are a lot of countries that do not have the data to compare to. When comparing the 25 most populous countries the available data shows that all of them have disparities between the rich and the poor. When the countries are ranked by inequality the U.S. ends up showing higher inequality disparity than most other economically advanced countries.  Other measures of inequality include what people care about such as: In Kind Transfers, Economic Life Cycle, and Transitory vs. Permanent Income. 

There are political philosophy groups such as Utilitarianism, Liberalism and Libertarian-ism that help choose policies to redistribute wealth. Those policies are: Minimum Wage Laws, Welfare, Negative Income Tax, In Kind Transfers and Anti- Poverty Programs and Work Incentives.  In conclusion, the measurement of inequality and poverty is difficult because of all economic, social and political factors involved.

Chapter 19

Post three of your "margin notes" from your reading of the chapter to your blog.  Why did you make the comment you made in the margin?  What did you find confusing, useful, or important about the passage you commented on?

Human Capital: The accumulation of investments in people, such as education and on the job training. I found the information in this section of our text useful because recently at a Town Board meeting one of our Trustees was discussing personnel reviews and made the statement that Education is extremely important for staff at all levels and that it needs to be a priority for the Board to budget funds for next year. I was able to relate to the reading in the text to a recent work perspective and it makes more sense to me now why he made that point. Also, a benefit for me. 

Discrimination and Gender Differences: I am still shocked by the gender/discrimination regarding differences in pay. Although in most competitive markets the level of discrimination tends to be limited. I found it interesting that discrimination can still persist in markets if customers pay more to those companies or if the government passes laws that require companies to discriminate. I wonder what government law that would be?

Beauty:Getting a job because your beautiful. Something that I did not even think about so this section was also an interesting read. Another great industry that has high demand, weight loss gimmicks, skin care, boob implants, and the list goes on. People pay a high price to be beautiful, because beauty sells. I think that I was aware of this just not that beauty is used as an indirect measure of your skills or abilities. Interesting.   

Chapter 18

Pretend for a moment you are the instructor developing this course.  Write 3 short answer questions for an exam over this chapter that you believe cover the most important points in the chapter. Post all three questions on your blog.  Give an example of a great answer and an okay answer to each question. (Be sure to differentiate between the two responses.


Question 1: What are the most important Factors of Production?
Great answer:There are three important Factors of Production: Labor, A company or firm will consider the size of its workforce and how it will effect the amount of output produced. Land, companies have to decide which is better for their output whether to rent or purchase land which are determined by supply and demand of the product being produced. Capital, is the equipment and structures that are used to produce the companies goods and services. 

Okay Answer: Labor, Land and Capital. 

Question 2. What are the the main causes of the Labor Demand Curve to shift?
Great answer: There are three main causes to the Labor Demand Curve shift: The Output Price, which is the value of the marginal product times the price of the firms output. Technological Change, which can cause changes that reduce labor, technological advances raise the marginal product of labor. The Supply of Other Factors, one factor of production can affect the marginal product of other factors. 

Okay answer: The Output Price, Technological Change, and The Supply of Other Factors. 


Question 3. What are the main causes of the shift in the Labor Supply Curve?
Great Answer: There are three main causes of the shift in the Labor Supply Curve, Changes in Tastes or attitudes towards work, nowadays the family sizes are smaller and women choose to work rather than stay home. Changes in Alternative Opportunities, labor in one market depend on the opportunity available in other markets, such as wage differences. Immigration, the movement of workers between regions and countries.

Okay Answer: Changes in Tastes, Changes in Alternative Opportunities and Immigration. 

Chapter 17

What do you think about anti-trust laws with respect to the cell-phone industry?  

I think that the cell phone companies should be responsible to abide by the antitrust laws. The competition between companies in our area is very competitive and their pricing is similar to each other for the services that they offer. 

Do you think the cell phone industry could be an oligopoly? 

In our area the cell phone industry could be an oligopoly. 

Why or why not?
Because of limited cell phone towers, and a smaller population. 

There are only three, maybe four cell phone competitors in our area.

Decision Box: 
Game Theory, the study of how people behave in strategic situations. The Prisoners Dilemma explains why cooperation is difficult between companies when it is beneficial to both, and the dominant strategy which is the best for one player in the game regardless of what others choose to do. All three of these play into the Decision Box, it works by showing the available choices/strategies of/for the players.   

  

What about Oligopolies is most unclear to you?

I am still trying to figure out antitrust laws. I understand why we have them but as a whole they seem very complex. I understand some of the violations that companies may be held liable for but it seems that there is a lot of grey area. Any suggestions on additional reading materials?

Chapter 16

Can advertising make markets either more or less competitive?

I think that advertising do make markets more competitive.

How?

If one company advertises a product for a lower price than its competitor that drives the competitor to lower their cost for the same product. The example in our book talks about the cost of eye glasses in states that allow advertising being lower rather than in states that do not allow advertising. From this example I feel that advertising is a benefit to consumers because it drives down the cost when companies are competing for consumers to purchase their product. I am a firm advocate for consumer awareness though and people should educate themselves about their purchases and whom they are purchasing from. 

What was the most interesting thing you learned in this chapter?  

Brand Names.

Why was it interesting to you?

As a consumer, I would have to disagree with the critics of Brand Names. My example would be to compare Pepsi to store brand Cola. Yes, I have purchased both and there is no comparison when it comes to flavor. therefore I prefer a Pepsi over Cola even if it does cost more. I would have to agree with the economists that defend brand names and their quality. I'm thinking of the saying "you get what you pay for."   

Chapter 15

Monopoly

How did your understanding of monopolies change after reading this chapter?

I now know that a monopoly is a single firm that owns a key resource and that the government plays a role in the governing of these resources. 

What do you see differently now?

I see how our local governments play their role in governing our public utilities such as gas, electric, water and in Eagle even the phone, internet service has a monopoly. Century Link. 

Give an example of a regulated monopoly (a monopoly that exists due to government fiat).  Why did we choose to give this particular firm monopoly status? 

A natural monopoly such as Holy Cross Electric, It is cheaper for Holy Cross Electric to provide electric to our entire area (entire market) at a smaller cost than allowing two firms to provide electric to our area. 

Do you think it was a good decision?  

I do think that it was a good decision. 

Why or why not?

I think that it was a good decision because our population is considerably small comparative to other areas. I think that our costs as consumers may be lower if there were more competition and that the environmental impacts would be more significant. I don't mind paying more for a service that has less impacts on our environment. If two or even three companies were allowed to provide electric it would impact residents and our wildlife. 

Chapter 14

Firms in Competitive Markets 

Why does a perfectly competitive firm maximize revenues where P=MC? 

Price = Marginal Cost Curve

A competitive firms revenue is proportional to the amount of output it produces. A firm will choose a quantity of output so that the marginal cost revenue equals the marginal cost. They do this to maximize profit.

Why is P=MR in this market type?

Price = Marginal Revenue

If marginal revenue is greater than marginal cost than a firm can increase profit by increasing their production. A firms price will equal its average revenue and marginal revenue.

Name a business you think belongs in this category.  Why? Be sure you think about all of the assumptions about firms in this industry.

When I think of business that belongs in this category, I think of BonFire Brewery. They are competitive to other local brewery's. I have watched their business and production grow from a small tap room to adding an additional larger tap room in the Chambers Commercial Park. They have increased their production to allow for distribution across Colorado. I feel that this local business has used their Marginal cost curve to keep their prices competitive and low, as a result of higher production of their product. 

Chapter 13

The Costs of Production

Why do marginal costs first fall and then begin to rise?

Marginal costs fall at first because of the relationship with the Average total costs. The Average total cost first falls as output increases and then rises as output increases further. The Marginal cost curve crosses the Average cost curve. Marginal cost will rise as quantity of output product produced increases.

Why are marginal costs important to a firm when making decisions to increase or decrease production?

Marginal costs are the increase in the total cost that occurs from extra production. Costs are fixed in the short term and variable in the long run. Firms typically want to maximize profit and they have to analyze the Average costs and Marginal costs to decide the best way to maximize there profit. If Marginal costs increase production costs but do not maximize profits they may decide to decrease production. 

How can you apply these cost concepts to your own life?

The example in our book referring to our grade point average and the relationship between our grade point average and the grade in a particular class would apply to me. Also, I think of my income being a fixed income on a yearly basis but the cost of living is variable such as groceries, gas and services. 

Chapter 12

Now that you have had a chance to think about tax systems which type do you prefer - progressive, flat tax, income, consumption - there are quite a few possibilities.  How do you think the concept of equity or fairness fits into a tax system? Last year Colorado voted on a progressive tax system - the initiative failed and we still have a flat income tax system here (4.63%).  After reading this chapter would you change your vote?

I think that my concept of equity and fairness is similar to what our text reads; Equity, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I feel that the vertical equity has more fairness to its concept than the horizontal one.Vertical equity and proportional taxes go together. I would prefer a proportional tax system where everyone pays the same percentage of their income. The proportional is where high income and low income taxpayers pay the same fraction of income. I do not believe that people whom are wealthier than others should have to pay a higher percentage, and I am in the lower tax bracket/poor. People with lower incomes usually use government services more than higher income people. I can see where the regressive tax would come in, but I do not feel that is a fair tax system either.

The reason I feel vertical equity and proportional taxes go together is the fact that taxpayers with a greater ability to pay taxes do pay larger amounts. If you make $100,000 per year your going to pay more money in taxes than someone who makes $50,000 per year, but your both paying the same percentage of your income. So essentially those two systems create a "true" working tax system.

I would not change my vote to a progressive tax system. In our area we receive a lot of taxes from second home owners. Eagle County is fairly wealthy compared to other counties in the state.    

Chapter 11

Think of an example of a Public Good (not a publicly provided good, but a Public Good using the definition from the chapter.)  What are the costs of providing the good?  What are the benefits? Is there another way to have the good provided? Did this chapter cause you to think of Public Goods differently?  In what way?

An example of a Public Good, which is a good that is neither excludable or rival in consumption that I can think of in our local community is the Free Concert series during the summer. For six weeks we have a concert series that exposes local and state bands to our community. The cost is $10,000 from the Town of Eagle to the Vail Valley Foundation. People cannot be prevented from attending the concerts, and enjoying the show. The concerts do not reduce anyone's ability to enjoy other entertainment's.   

The benefits to these concerts are high in our community. The concerts bring small local vendors out to sell their product. The community residents get out to enjoy good music, friends, family and peaceful summer nights. The bands get free exposure to a variety of concert goers for future business potential. 

The good could be provided as a ticketed/paid for individually event. It could become a private event but that would lower the communities greater good. 

Working for a small local government, I enjoyed reading the bit in our book regarding "How much a life is worth"? It has made me wonder if our elected officials think of the value of a human life when approving construction projects at budget time. I think I will make a copy of it and paste on our bulletin board for random reading pleasure at work. 

Chapter 10

What is your favorite example of a negative externality?  Could the problem be solved via negotiation (Coase Theorem)?  How or why not? Do you favor regulation to solve this externality?  Why or why not?  

I do have a favorite example of a negative externality. I did a research paper a few semesters ago on Factory Farming and its effects on the environment. The effects of Factory Farming on our environment and public health is enormous and our society is blissfully unaware. The waste run off from the animals before slaughter contaminates our ground water and nearby rivers; not forgetting to mention the waste from the slaughter itself. They have what they call lagoons that store and treat the waste before they release it into the nearby water ways. These lagoons frequently leak and overflow which causes toxic waste to flow into the surrounding areas before it is treated. Air pollution from the waste and the smells from the slaughter causes neighboring communities to suffer. I really could go on and on. There is constant litigation, and negotiations taking place but the reality is they are ineffective to the problem and the demand for meat in this country continues to increase. The problem is not being solved. 

Yes, I favor a regulation to solve this externality. The public might not like me very much after I say this but I would propose a $5-$10 (extreme, I know) environmental impact fee for every single fast food purchase made; every single restaurant in the country that purchases meat from large corporate farmers. Every single consumer of fast food/restaurants would have to pay this fee which would go directly to the area's that are impacted by the Factory Farms. I think it is time that people take accountability for there consumerism and pay for the impact of those purchases. If you love Big Mac's well then pay for what it costs to produce it. I would be willing to pay the fee, but I sure would cook from home more and shop from farmers that are more environmentally conscientious.  

We live in a county that throws away so much food, and the animals slaughtered at such an alarming rate......we need to educate our children and ourselves about this problem. Money is a way to always get people to pay attention and maybe take action for change. 

Chapter 9

What was your opinion about restrictions on international trade before reading this chapter?  Have you changed your mind? Strengthened your opinion? In what ways and why?  What was the most interesting part of the chapter to you?  Why?

International Trade is such a huge topic! I still believe that trade has the potential to be highly beneficial to all participating countries.  It is in my opinion that most of the issues that people have with trade are legitimate arguments but if we could improve our trade policies we would all have greater benefits. 

The most interesting part of the Chapter is Free Trade. I am still forming my thoughts about the pro's verses the cons. For the most part I think that free trade is beneficial depending on the goods being imported and exported. Food perhaps.  And only if the products are equal in value, which can be tricky to monitor. 

After reading these what do yo think about protecting manufacturing industries from international trade? (The flip side, if you want more to think about, is our ban on exporting natural gas. Does that make sense to you? Why or why not?)

After reading these articles, I would say that we could protect what manufacturing industries that are currently doing well, and thriving in order to keep those jobs for people. But I feel that we should expand our services trade with other countries, new technologies are replacing labor manufacturing jobs and same with farming. The world is changing its pace and innovation, and invention is the way to keep us going and thriving in the world economy. 

The ban on natural gas makes sense to me if there is a shortage in our country and it's too expensive to export. We don't have to share all of our precious and limited resources. I feel that we shouldn't have to trade everything, only goods that will benefit our economy by both import and export factor. 

Chapter 8

Give an example of a tax that you have paid in the past.  Did it affect your purchase decisions?  Do you think the tax created dead weight loss?  Why or why not?  How is the market for the good affected by the tax?

I have paid the Eagle County Airport taxes and fee's on a rental car that I had to rent one time for a road trip, the vehicle that I owned no longer liked to go over the passes. I had no choice at the time to rent the car, but after paying about 28% on the total in local taxes and fees, I decided that it was not worth the car rental. Although it was fun to drive a brand new car! The rental rate seemed like a good deal while I was making the reservation and they show you your total cost plus airport taxes and fees once you are filling out the paper work.

I do think that the airport taxes and fee's create dead loss for the rental car companies, and it causes the prices to increase for the consumers. But being that we live in a resort area, the rich come to play here and do not even blink an eye but for the locals - OUCH! 

The market is effected for the good by the tax because the Town of Gypsum and Eagle County use the tax collected to maintain and up keep the airport, public right of ways and other government services that benefit everyone.  

Chapter 7

Why are producer and consumer surpluses important in determining market equilibrium?

The total surplus, which is the sum of the producer and consumer surpluses help determine the market equilibrium because the information is measured between supply and demand curves. 

Consumer surplus equals the area above the price which is below the demand curve. The producer surplus equals the area below the price and above the supply curve. The equilibrium outcome is an efficient allocation of resources. 

It is important to keep the market equilibrium healthy for the overall efficiency of the economy.

Should market efficiency always be the goal of policy setters?  Why or why not?

Maintaining market efficiency should typically be the goal of policy setters because; consumer surplus is a benefit that buyers receive and a producer surplus is a benefit that that the sellers receive. The basic tools that economists use to determine a healthy market is the consumer and producer surpluses. Policy setters should put forth the best policies to maintain a good balance between the surpluses in order to maintain a healthy economy/free market. But most economists often advocate free markets as the best way to organize economic activity instead of centrally planned. I would agree that it is probably very difficult to set the policies based on 

Chapter 6

How does this relate to the theories from the chapter? This article relates to the Price Control and Price Floor affects of the market. in my opinion the Venezuela government is hurting the economy and its citizens by imposing price control and government subsidized products that are high in demand but short in supply. Now consider a different case.  After Hurricane Katrina speculators brought in bottled water, but charged quite a lot for it.  What might have happened had price controls been imposed?  Where does the concept of fairness fit into this theory? Because Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster and a human emergency/crisis there should have been price controls for goods that are necessities so that people were not priced gouged for things they needed to survive. There is no fairness when people are in short term crises to take advantage of overpricing necessities for a profit. Last, choose an article about increases in the minimum wage and comment on it using the theories from this chapter in your comments. http://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/the_ripple_effect_of_the_minimum_wage_on_american_workers/ According to this article raising the minimum wage would increase the wages of 35 million American workers. 29 % of the US workforce. The article discussed the Ripple Effect that this would have on the wages in America but I feel the overall consensus of the article is that raising the minimum wage would be a benefit to low wage workers, including raising wages for most workers in the lower wage bracket/lower income work force.  In our text it states that in 2006 economists, 47 percent favored eliminating minimum wage, 14 percent maintain it and 38 percent would increase it. In my opinion we should not eliminate it, because then employers would under pay the workforce. I firmly believe in today's society we are forced to work for much much more and get paid for less. People today are overworked, under paid and stressed. I say raise the minimum wage, pay people what their worth. We have to work to survive, so make it possible to do so.  I am a proponent to raising the minimum wage. I understand the teenage factor, but not all of their parents can support their cars, insurance and college. Why not help them be able to start out successful and become financially independent from their parents?

Chapter 5

Give an example of sales based on price elasticities that you have seen or used.  Why do you think it worked (or didn't work)? 

An example of sales based on price elasticities that I have used, I think of my Epic Ski Pass. Before Vail Resorts created the Epic Pass, there was your basic pass that the price range was about $1500. and then there were Merchant Passes etc. I did not ski or purchase the pass. When they restructured the pass to the Epic Pass, I bought a pass and learned how to ski. When Vail created the ski pass good at all VR resorts including out of state and out of the country, and the price structure showed that the demand for the pass increased. The Epic Pass has made the opportunity to ski very accessible to almost everyone. There are many different passes you can purchase that suits your needs. Skiing is a luxury rather than a necessity. I think that Vail Resorts had a high measure of response to the restructuring of their Ski Pass opportunities. The sale of their passes increased their revenues, amount of skiers on the mountains, and stock value increased. 

What topic made the least sense to you in this chapter? What is wrong or complex about it?

I am still having a hard time understanding the formulas for computing the Price Elasticity of Demand, Calculating Percentage Changes and Elasticities. Demand Curve. I do not think that it is wrong, it is complex to me because I am more visual learner or maybe if I listened to a tutorial it would help. I am reading it, just not "sinking in"  Any suggestions on finding a tutorial or audio on this subject to help? Thank you!

Chapter 4 - Reflections

Topic: Supply and Demand

In many large cities you can now use your cell phone to call Uber or Lyft instead of hailing a taxi.  Would you expect this to affect the prices of taxi medallions (that is really the supply of taxis)?  Why or why not?  Talk about supply and demand curves in your answer.

I think that this app has and will continue to effect the prices of the taxi medallion. From an article I read online a medallion owner stated that the price does continue to go down but that the demand for a cab has stayed steady. He also stated that the revenue flow is continuing to go down with the medallion. 

The demand for the medallion will begin to go down because there will be continued loss in revenues as the Uber or Lyft app continue to rise in popularity. They supply of medallions will go down as an effect of the lowered demand. 

Can you think of an example where you watched the supply of a good or service change rapidly?  (For example, a new hotel or restaurant opened.)  Based on the chapter what would you expect to see happen? Why?

A new restaurant opened in Eagle two years ago in a busy, popular area on Broadway. When the restaurant opened it was very busy because they were providing a new dining experience in town. The demand for the new restaurant was high and the supply of consumers was high. The prices of their entrees was high. But as the year continued the customers had continued lack of service and poor quality of food. The restaurant demand was continuing to decline as the customers slowly stopped returning to dine. Customers found other areas to dine that were less expensive and had better food. The restaurant had to close its doors only 18 months after opening. I think that it was lack of management to provide excellent customer service and great food. It is a good example of supply and demand between food service and a restaurant . 

Give another example of a concept from this chapter.  For example I just used AirBnB to rent an apartment in 

San Francisco.  How did AirBnB affect the supply of rooms to rent in San Francisco?

Because you rented a room, your purchase effected the supply of the rooms to be lower in availability for the dates of your purchase. I will use an event that comes to mind, Cheyenne Days in Wyoming. During that event there were no available rooms in the hotels for that time because the demand is high, we had to rent a room 30 miles away and at a high cost for a cheapo hotel because we did not realize this."Number of Buyers Effect".  I have learned to plan ahead for major events if I expect to have the accommodations that I want.Good example of Supply and Demand.

Chapter 3

What is your opinion about International Trade? Is it good or bad? Why?

Last semester for Macroeconomics I choose to do my final paper on International Trade. WOW! It was a huge topic with so many micro topics. Its like a 500 piece puzzle! But overall, I feel trade is good for the economy both national and international. The main reason I believe that trade is good and beneficial to people and animals is because we can share one another's unique goods or services that is desired by or needed by the consumer. 

Did your opinion about trade change after reading the chapter?

No, my opinion has not changed since I read the Chapter. It was a good refresher from last semester. I am a trade advocate although I feel our policies need to be changed, seems that they are rather outdated, but something to help our national market improve and/or we need to make our goods and services desirable to other countries to improve our GDP.

Chapter 2

How does the use of a very simplified model of the economy such as those found in a production possibilities frontier help you to understand the economy?

When I studied the model and read Chapter 2;  I put the information into my perspective as a consumer, and citizen. Basically I compared it to my own personal finance, shopping habits etc. Then once you take it from your own personal experience and perspective you can see how it relates starting in your own community and expanding outward into the sate, country, world etc. 

Give an example of a positive and normative statement about the economy. Why does it matter which is which?

An example of a positive statement would be: 

"Buying produce from Farmers Markets support small, local businesses". 

A positive statement attempts to describe things that are factual.

An example of a normative statement would be:

"Everyone should shop at Farmers Markets, to minimize pollution, increase their health benefits and put big grocery chains out of business".

A normative statement attempts to describe things as we think that they ought to be based on our personal beliefs, morals and opinions. 

So when economists make normative statements they can be acting more as policy advisers rather than going off of factual data. 

What in this chapter made you think about an economic concept differently than your previous beliefs? 

Principle 3. Rational People Think at the Margin
The examples that I read in Chapter 1 such as airlines and cell phone companies made sense to me, and the marginal decision making that companies use to make a profit and sell their product and or services. 

What new questions do you have now about the US economy based on this chapter?

I am interested in learning more about the US governments role in the economy. 
What does the government do help boost the economy?
What government programs effect the economy? 
What do economists think about the role the government plays/effects of economy?