Download Infrastructure

Agenda February 11
 Finish Group Presentations from the Book Chapters
 Journal
 In Class Essay
 Please use your yellow packet of Econ notes
 Please use the notes you took from Monday
 Please use the Hoover and Roosevelt readings
 HW: Prepare for Book Club Friday
 Read Chapter 5 and 6 and complete Reading packet Due
Thursday February 19th
Journal
 Journal: IF the in class essay questions were the following--
Compare and Contrast Hoover and Roosevelt's Fiscal Policy
and the impact each had on the Great Depression—What 3
things would you choose to discuss in a 5 paragraph essay?
In Class Essay
 Compare and Contrast Hoover and Roosevelt's Fiscal Policy
and the impact each had on the Great Depression
Agenda Period 5
 Important Definitions: Pork and Infrastructure
 Breaking Down the Current Stimulus Package
Pork
 Pork-barrel legislation refers to appropriations of public funds by Congress or other legislative
bodies for pet projects that serve the interests local districts these legislators represent, rather
than the interests of the larger population. Legislators vigorously promote such projects' funding
because they will pump outside taxpayers' money and resources into the area they represent and
is likely to earn political credit for the legislator that can be used to get re-elected by his/her
constituents. Public works and agricultural subsides are often cited as examples of pork-barrel
legislation. Other examples of such pork-barrel legislation include federal appropriations for
dams, river and harbor improvements, bridge and highway construction, and job-training centers
and Federal Appropriations designed to prevent closure of obsolete or unneeded military
installations, prisons, VA hospitals and the like.
 What one legislator perceives as an important improvement for his district or state, another might
view as an unfair distribution of federal funds. Those that use the term in a pejorative sense are
critical of the fact that a specific project benefits only one district or region, and that similar
benefits do not flow to other areas in the nation with similar needs. Criticism for pork barrel
projects is often warranted because they fund programs that fail to meet national criteria, or are
awarded without need first being demonstrated on a competitive basis. The term is derived from
the practice of plantation owners who would often hand out rations of salt pork to their slaves,
distributing them from wooden barrels.
Infrastructure
 Infrastructure can be defined as the basic physical and
organizational structures needed for the operation of a
society or enterprise. The term typically refers to the
technical structures that support a society, such as roads,
water supply, sewers, power grids, telecommunications, and
so forth. Viewed functionally, infrastructure facilitates the
production of goods and services; for example, roads enable
the transport of raw materials to a factory, and also for the
distribution of finished products to markets. In some
contexts, the term may also include basic social services such
as schools and hospitals
Breaking Down The Stimulus Package
 For your assigned section
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Explain what the purpose is (why the crafters of the
stimulus feel it is necessary)
Summarize the key points
Figure out the total cost
Point out any Pork
Explain the benefits (economic, social, environmental)

When appropriate with economic please address supply and
demand, GDP, and sound fiscal policy
Groups
 Create Jobs with Clean, Efficient, American Energy (Dillon’s




Group)
Transforming Our Economy with Science and Technology
(Curtis’s Group)
Modernize Roads, Bridges, Transit and Waterways (James's
Group)
Education for the 21st Century and Save Public Sector Jobs
and Protect Vital Services (Esther’s Group)
Lower Healthcare Costs and Help Workers Hurt by the
Economy (Shawn and Mickey’s Groups)