economic and social goals
Americans share several major economic and social goals.
Economic Freedom
Economic Freedom
- Americans traditionally place a higher value on the freedom to make their own economic decisions.
- Most people recognize that resources are scarce and that factors of production must be used wisely.
- At the national level, we have established the minimum wage - the lowest legal wage that can be paid to most workers.
- Most people believe that advertisers should not be allowed to make false claims about their products.
- Americans desire protection from such adverse economic events as layoffs and illnesses.
- At the national level, Congress has set up Social Security - a federal program the disability and retirement benefits that covers most working people.
- When people work, they earn income by producing goods and service for others.
- As a result, most people want their economic system top provide as many jobs as possible.
- If inflation - a rise int he general level of prices - occurs, workers need more money to pay for food, clothing, and shelter.
- People who live on a fixed income - an income that does not increase even though prices go up - find that bills are harder to pay and planning for the future is more difficult.
- The last major goal of most Americans is economic growth.
- In the end, we are the ones who decide on the goals that are the most important to us, and it is entirely possible that our goals could change in the future.
resolving trade offs among goals
Conflicts among goals can be solved by comparing the cost of a goal to its benefit.
People often have different ideas about how to reach a goal, or the goals themselves might conflict. Even an increase in the minimum wage involves a conflict of goals. People, businesses, and government are usually able to resolve conflicts among goals. In a democratic society, government reflects the will of a majority of its people.
People often have different ideas about how to reach a goal, or the goals themselves might conflict. Even an increase in the minimum wage involves a conflict of goals. People, businesses, and government are usually able to resolve conflicts among goals. In a democratic society, government reflects the will of a majority of its people.