RealWorldGraduation_Question_15 <– PDF
The most effective plan to adopt for earning a lot of money legally in a short period is:
a) Lottery tickets
b) Games of chance (legal gambling) at a casino
c) TV game shows
d) Church bingo
e) Timing of investments in the stock market
(The answer is shown on p. 2 of the PDF.)
RealWorldGraduation_Question_14 <– PDF
Consider the following fictional scenario.
Congressman A received a total of $161,000 from a consortium of oil and gas companies, consisting of $118,000 in direct campaign contributions and $43,000 to his Political Action Committee (PAC). Congressman B received a total of $68,000 from a legal lobbying group that supports expansion of civil lawsuits, consisting of $53,000 in campaign contributions and an additional $15,000 in contributions to his PAC. Congressman C received a total of $258,000 from an environmental lobbying group, consisting of $204,000 in campaign contributions and $54,000 to his PAC, which is another environmental lobbying group. Congressman D received a total of $380,000 from a group devoted to increased regulation of “conservative talk radio”, consisting of $346,000 in campaign contributions and $34,000 to his PAC. All four of these Congressmen were lawyers before they ran for Congress.
A bill came before Congress which contained the following provisions:
All four of the Congressmen voted for the bill. Which Congressman’s actions constitute the worst examples of bribery?
a) Congressman A, because he seeks to protect the predatory for-profit oil and gas industry, which seeks to pollute the entire earth.
b) Congressman B, because the contributions he received constitutes a conflict of interest (he was a lawyer himself before he ran for Congress).
c) Congressman C, because the amount that was given to the environmental PAC will be devoted to lobbying, part of which will be probably be donated to Congressman C next year.
d) Congressman D, because his donors seek to reduce the free speech rights of conservative talk radio hosts.
e) All of them are equal offenders, because the principle involved, trading favors or creating laws for money, is immoral and illegal, not the exact amounts of money that changed hands.
(See answer on p. 2 of the PDF).)
RealWorldGraduation_Question_13 < PDF
A sports fan (father of three young children) is in a clothing store and finds a jersey from his favorite major league sports team in his size that is on sale at $75.00. It normally sells for $100.00 (i.e., the $75 represents 25% off regular price). The jersey is a genuine one, authorized by the major league franchise (not an imitation). Why is this jersey a good deal?
a) The sports fan can show his support for the team whenever he wears it.
b) If he wears it to a game, the players will appreciate that he is one of their fans.
c) He can use it to teach his children the value of teamwork.
d) The jersey may become a valuable collectible in the future.
e) Some combination of all of the above.
(The answer is on p. 2 of the PDF.)
RealWorldGraduation_Question_12 <– PDF
There are about 85 named storms worldwide each year [1]. Prior to 1950, hurricanes were not officially named. Hurricanes were given official names after 1953, and the minimum sustained winds necessary to qualify as a hurricane was 74 MPH [2]. In 2002, tropical storms also began to be named (having sustained winds greater than 38 MPH) in an effort to legitimize claims of “man-made global warming” [3 – 5]. Thus, the number of named storms has grown over time, due to the lowering of wind speeds used as the criteria. Every such storm, whether a tropical storm, or hurricane, has the same characteristics: strong winds, large waves impacting the shore, and a lot of rainfall. Why does every TV news outlet feel it is necessary to send a reporter to the beach before and after every storm to show viewers that this one will cause high winds, large waves, and heavy rainfall, exactly like all the others that have occurred during the past 100,000 years?
a) Because TV was not around for the first 99,960 years of hurricanes and tropical storms, and they are trying to catch up
b) TV anchors deserve a chance to do a little surfing
c) So there will be a photographic record of the damage, for insurance purposes
d) To conduct interviews with the local people, who can describe what they expect or what they saw afterward from the storm
e) Some combination of c) and d)
[1] “Number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes has doubled over 35 years”, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, 16 Sep 2005 press release
[2] U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
[3] “NOAA inflating storm numbers and aiding political campaign for carbon restrictions”, The National Center for Public Policy Research press release, 30 Nov 2007
[4] 2007 Hurricane Season: In Like a Lamb, Out Like A Lion?”, The National Center for Public Policy Research press release, 30 Aug 2007
[5] 2007 Hurricane Update, Have Records Been Broken?”, The National Center for Public Policy Research press release, 10 Sep 2007
(The answer is on p. 2 of the PDF.)
In Part 1 is a tutorial on basic economics, covering wealth, money, prices, capital, rent, labor, economic expansions and contractions, inequality, debt, credit, monetary inflation, and national debt. It details the causes and consequences of monetary inflation, and the role of central banks contributing to it.
In The Federalist Companion, author Edward D. Duvall explains in detail why the Articles of Confederation failed after the Revolutionary War. The result was a union of the states under the U.S. Constitution. This book is a great aid to understanding the defense of the Constitution presented by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay in The Federalist Papers.
In Can You Afford That Student Loan, author Edward Duvall explains how to evaluate whether a student loan makes sense economically. It includes a unique nomographic system for seeing the whole picture of debt, income, and repayment.
Part 2 contains a complete financial and economic history of the U. S. from 1775 to 2020, based on official reports from the U. S. Treasury, the Comptroller of the Currency, and Federal Reserve Bulletins, including:
a) Growth and nature of the money supply;
b) The various banking systems (First & Second Banks of the U. S., State-chartered Banks, the National Banking System, and the Federal Reserve);
c) U. S. Government revenues and expenditures;
d) U. S. national debt;
e) Coinage;
f) Banking system condition statements;
g) CPI and median income from 1800 to 2020, along with a "standard of living index"; and
h) A description of significant monetary and financial legislation since the adoption of the Constitution.
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-Chronology from 1761 to 1787
-Extended outline of The Federalist Papers
-Text of Articles of Confederation and Constitution
-Fully indexed and cross-referenced
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Free Nomograph Templates.