Prompt: “In January 1992, would you have predicted a smaller or larger Pentagon budget in 1993? Why?”

In 1980 the first Olympics to take place in Russia were held. Many westerners attended the games and socialized with Russians. This lead to Russians visiting their friends in America, and seeing first hand how wealthy the west really was. One story I heard about such an event actually made me tear up. It was about a Russian visiting an American and asking to see an American grocery store. The American took him to see the closest store, and the Russian was shocked. He said, “No, I don’t want to see the stores for the rich. Show me a commoners store.” The American replied, “Well, that’s what this is.” The Russian shook his head and demanded to see a store for commoners. So the American took him to a different shop. Again the Russian wasn’t satisfied. He again demanded to see a commoners store. So the American once again brought him to a different nearby shop. Upon entering the third shop and seeing the vibrant lights, colors, and plentiful food on every shelf tears began to fill the Russians eyes. He looked at his American friend and he said, “They lied! They lied, they lied, they lied!! You have wealth!”

That is an example of the immediate visible different between the American and Russian economy in the 1980’s. Russians who traveled to America and saw this difference returned to Russia and shared this news with their friends. This began the first seeds of doubt in the USSR to sprout in the minds of many Russians. Mikhail Gorbachev came onto the scene, and with his more liberal communist views began to open up the country in ways never before tried. Russia’s satellite states also began to push for freedom, a famous example being East Germany. President Reagan’s 1987 speech at the Berlin wall included the famous line “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Intense pressure began to build up on the USSR. It’s people were realizing how second class their economy was, military defeat left its defense weakened, and the anti communist movement was heating up to a boil in the west. The USSR eventually couldn’t handle all this pressure, and dissolved (In American time) December 25 1991. My professor said this was the best Christmas present he ever got.

With the fall of the USSR also came the fall of the Cold War, a war of mutually assured destruction that had kept both America and Russia in fear of each other for nearly 45 years. The worry of nuclear devastation was finally over, the curtains closed and the iron curtain fell. After such an affair I would imagine that the pentagon would lesson their military spending. The war was over, it was time to build up the economy. This is in fact what took place, until 2001. But that’s another story.

Prompt: “What would you miss the most if you had to go back to 1955, as in Back to the Future (1985)? What would you miss the least?” 

If I were to travel to the 1950’s I would miss the diversity of the modern world. I’m part of the LGBT community, so I would be very sad to see a world which doesn’t understand or accept gender identity, sexuality, or non traditional self expression. The hetero normative views and standards of the 1950’s would be hard to witness.

But I am a big animation nerd, and I would love to witness the making of the newly blossoming cartoons of the era such as Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny and Felix the Cat. My favorite era to travel to would be the 1920’s and 30’s, purely to witness the birth of animation as we know it. What I’d give to spend a day watching Max Fleischer draw toons hopping outta the inkwell. If I were to travel to the 1950’s I think I’d spend most of my time touring animation and film studios. Maybe I’d find Grim Natwick and see what he was up to, or perhaps I’d see if I could catch a peak at Mae Questel recording her lines for the Saturday morning show Winky Dink and You.

Another aspect of the 1950’s that interests me is the nature. The idea of a family camp out in the mostly unspoiled redwood forests of California sounds absolutely superb. Everyone piling into the oldsmobile, packing up a picnic basket and a few tents into the back, and trucking out into the wilderness singing songs all the way. There’s something so wholesome about the thought, a novelty in the lack of technology. Just family, a loyal dog, and a sprawling forest that seems to endlessly blanket the countryside in idyllic natural beauty. Yes that is the life.

In conclusion the 1950’s had many beautiful aspects, but it also had many not so great aspects. If the 1950’s embraced diversity and self expression it may have been a paradise. But a time which excludes and shames people for their sexuality, race, gender, or for exploring their identity is not a time I would ever want to live in. Visiting it would be another story. I would be absolutely thrilled to meet my animation heroes and see the beauty of the national parks.

Prompt: “Is it counterfeiting when government-licensed banks create money out of nothing?”

The gold backed standard allows the free market to have control over a limited supply of wealth. Under this standard there is no fiat currency, all the money in circulation is backed by gold. Government licensed banks, such as the federal reserve, have the power to print all the money they see fit without the restrictions of a limited gold supply. I wouldn’t necessarily call this counterfeiting, as it is legally backed. But it does pose the threat of inflation if the fed prints out more money than our economy can afford to support.

Prompt: “My Retrospective Retirement Speech: What I Accomplished, and How I Did It.”

The things we choose to do in life sculpt our experience. The dreams we choose to chase make up the majority of our time. The lifestyles we live bloom from our youth, and evolve as we do. Asking myself what my lifestyle will be before I’ve matured into it sure is an undertaking, but it’s also a chance to dream of what I want to live.

When I’m in my eighties, surrounded by family within the life I’ve created, what do I want to see around me. Do I want to chase stardom, inspiring my peers and bringing light into the areas that have been darkened? Do I want to chase knowledge, soaking up the wisdom of generations past and telling the stories of the old days to my children’s children? Do I simply want to pursue peace within myself and my space, getting to know myself better each day until I can eventually greet myself as an old friend. In my mind the most well rounded choice would be to do a little of each. Inspire people, learn the wisdom of the past and present, and discover myself and my everyday joy.

I can imagine three physical ideas I would like to make real within my world some day. The first is inspiration. I’ve always had an intense fondness of cartoons. I see them as dreams fully realized, the artists inner spirit being brought to life on a paper or screen. I want to make a cartoon one day, one that expresses my emotions, thoughts, and personal inspirations. If this future work of art could inspire someone to be themselves more truthfully or pursue their own individual joy in life I would feel most honored.

The second physical I want to create will take a piece of nature to bring to life. When I am older I want to buy a slice of land, fairly large and able to support my ambition. This ambition is made up by two parts, architecture and agriculture. I’ve always adored tiny house architecture, as well as earthen building. I want to build several earthen tiny houses on my land, either to rent to my friends or to use as multiple Airbnbs. I also want to build an organic farm/ranch for myself. I want to raise goats, cows, chickens, possibly llamas, as well as other animals. I also want to create a fairly large crop production. I’ll raise a cornfield, a pumpkin patch, apple trees, grape vines, sprouts of all sorts, and a decent sized food forest. With the architecture combined with the agriculture I’ll feel confident in my ability to build, maintain, and help things grow.

Once I’m at that point in my life I’ll be ready to have children, who I’m sure will become the light of my life. I’ll want to help them find themselves, bring them joy and humor every day, and encourage anyway they choose to grow and explore themselves. Their happiness will make me extremely content and proud.

At the end of the day, or the end of the life, the physical accomplishments you’ve made matter only as much as how happy and proud you felt while making them. You could earn a high raking job, be making millions, and be miserable. I would call this a life that is not being lived to the fullest, for a life that is not making you happy to live does not create much value for the individual living it. On the contrary you could be dirt poor, but if you’re finding joy and peace within that lack of material wealth I would classify you as among kings. A monk could spend his life meditating in a cave, living off scraps of fruit dropped from the trees. A lawyer could spend his life defending things he doesn’t believe in, living in luxury but feeling empty. I would rather be the monk, truly enjoying every moment of being without ever selling myself.

If I inspire people with my animation, build beauty with my architecture, and grow life with my agriculture I will be very happy and contented. If I can raise my children to love and be true to themselves I will be very proud. If my grandchildren raise their children to love being alive, learn from their mistakes, and laugh as often as they can I will be truly at peace.

Prompt: “Do Labor Unions Cause Price Inflation?”

Labor unions create benefits for their members. These can include reduced hours and higher pay. The labor union enforces that its members are protected from being fired, and that their demands are met. But this stops the free market from deciding how many workers it needs, and how much they’ll be paid. In a free market if a business is close to bankruptcy it can let go of some of its employees, but if they are in a labor union it’s not able to. So the business has to continue paying employees it can’t afford, and therefor has to raise its products prices. This creates inflation, as the business has to continue raising prices in order to pay the employees protected by the labor union.

Prompt:  “Does a tariff on imports also reduce exports?”

Tariffs discourage foreign producers from shipping their products to the US. If they have to pay extra to ship their products to the US they’ll have an incentive to sell elsewhere. The individual producers will then have a friendly rapport with the alternative country they are selling to, and are more likely to buy from that country over the country with the tariffs. This reduces exports, and slows down both production and consumption within the US.

Prompt: “Would you pay 20% more to shop at a store that sells only American-made goods?”

There are several factors at work in this decision: how well the product is made, how the product got made, who made it, and who is selling it. An ideal product in my mind is a well made, long lasting product made from sustainable materials. The ethics and values of the producers are also very important. Purchasing a product is the economic equivalent to voting. Consumers can use this power to support specific business’s, push for more eco-friendly production methods, and send their capital into the community of their choice. As a consumer I would opt to buy from a store in my community who has environment oriented production.

Choosing a producer who lives and works in my country guarantees that my money is going to be recycled back into my economy and make it stronger. It also means we can better regulate the ecological damage caused by production and create a more sustainable cycle of consumerism. If I choose to buy something from another country (even if its cheaper for me), I’m sending my assets into another countries economy. I also have less information about the environmental factors going into making the product, and could be unknowingly putting a bigger strain on the earth.

In conclusion I would opt to buy products made in my community, even if they are more expensive. I’ll have the information about how the product was made, and I know I’m using my dollar to support my community instead of another. Stronger economy, healthier environment.

Prompt: “In what area of your life would you prefer ‘first come, first served’ to ‘high bid wins’? Why?”

I’m trying to find a reasonably priced piece of raw land to build a house for myself from scratch. This search is all about being the first and having the highest bid. If I were alive during the early days of American colonialism this would be easy; all I’d have to do is plant an apple orchard and that land would be legally mine. But I live in an age where land has been resold time and time again, and price has only continued to rise.

If “first come, first served” worked in real estate over “high bid wins” owning land as a young adult would be much easier. But if I were ever trying to sell land I would prefer the high bid to win. It all depends at what point in life an individual is at. The system is set up for the buyers to be competitive and the sellers to reap the largest benefit. Even though I would love to play god over the economy I recognize that it would eventually lead to my own downfall.

In conclusion this question is idealistic, and if it were experimented with in reality a lot of people would be ripped off. Even though it’s much more challenging for me to live in a high bid wins world it’s ultimately better for the society I live in.

Prompt: “The most illogical argument in Common Sense”

It’s fairly easy to find illogical arguments sewn within the quilt of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, mainly because the document is based on rhetoric. It’s made to appeal to colonial Americans emotions, to highlight and intensify their outrage against Britain. He explains the situation in dramatized detail, declaring that the colonies shall never be truly free if they are under the thumb of the English. He pushed for revolution, war, and violent outbreak against Great Britain’s monarchy.

He did this through rhetoric as opposed to logic. One of his arguments was that the people demand separation, that most if not every citizen was chomping at the bit for independence. The issue was he hadn’t interviewed the hundreds of thousands he spoke for. Instead he had talked with several, perhaps a few hundred, and decided the public opinion based on their perspectives.

Another of his arguments was that the national dept is a good thing, and assists in bringing the American people together. Having a national problem, a mutual enemy, will cement the people together as steadfast Americans. But I argue that instead of cementing the people together through national dept, war, and hate of the British we could have built our country upon thriving economy, national brotherhood, peace between nations, and growing up from the foundation of the parent country instead of tearing it down. Though this idea may be idealistic, it could have saved many lives. This was the view of the Quakers, who preached to earn independence through peaceful methods rather than bloodshed. Paine’s response to them was to sit out, shut up, and let the men aiming for full scale revolutionary war call the shots.

Paine stated that too much commerce weakens a nation. He said that if we keep trading with Britain we’ll get rich, then we’ll have less motive and less ability to fight against England. We would have had less motive perhaps, but that would be because we are gaining capital. The argument that we would be less able to fight while being rich is a type of paradox. If it were true how was Britain the most powerful country at the time? They excelled in commerce, their trade routes were growing by the year and they invested their gains into their economy and military.

Paine also argued that freedom can never rule without rebellion, war, and a declaration of independence. But to disprove this notion we look to the north, towards our neighbor Canada. Canada had intense freedom without having to bloodily cut all ties to their parent countries. If we followed their techniques we may be closer tied to monarchy, but we could earn freedom without having to trade lives for our cause.

Paine’s Common Sense may have been the most impactful piece of literature at the time, and it definitely played a key role is sculpting our nation and our history. But it stubbornly sought out war, and dominated any group who preferred more peaceful methods of freedom fighting. It was based on emotion fueled rhetoric instead of logic.

Prompt: “Does he who pays the piper call the tune in education?”

We would hope that parents are sovereign when it comes to the education of their children. We would hope that parents have the power to choose what their children are learning, how they are learning it, and how their child’s growth is measured. We would hope that parents and teachers are on the same page, and that the teachers are teaching according to parents specifications.

Despite these hopes most schools aren’t able to change the way a child is being taught, regardless of the parents requests. Most public school students are taught in similar ways, through a method named Common Core. Common Core is based on nationwide tests, standardization of what is being taught, and graded scores which aim to measure how well a student is absorbing whats being taught. There are independent school districts which have varied teaching methods, but Common Core is the standard. This method was first experimented with in New York, implementing it nearly overnight. Students who had previously been doing fine now began falling behind, and pressure to excel within this system began rising.

I always wondered who was in charge of the way students got taught, and in my younger years I believed it varied from school to school. But the Common Core system has more influence than the people working at individual schools, and the staff of those schools have little power to change what they teach. This is because the Common Core was thought up by and implemented by university level bureaucrats, these were the people that convinced political leaders to enforce this teaching method nationwide. Their reason for doing this differs depending on who you ask, but in most fields nationwide implementation comes down to revenue. In education it also comes down to sculpting the next generation. Whoever wants to shape the next generation, regardless of how they want to shape them, need to pay a pretty penny to convince local politicians. Whoever pays the piper calls the tune.