Going Places (1948)

From YouTube:

Cold War cartoon defending the profit motive against anti-capitalist critics. The second of seven smart-looking animated shorts in the “fun and facts about American business” series. Its subject is “the profit motive,” and it stars “Freddie Fudsie,” a lazy soap maker who just wants to go fishing. He invents bar soap, makes some money, and is about to retire in peace and quiet when a sexy lady (the Profit Motive) walks by and Freddie — who suddenly needs more money to win her affection — never sees a fishing hole again. But that’s okay, because “the profit motive has been the driving force behind the growth of American industry” and “will make a better life for the children of tomorrow.”

2017 0

EconStores — Keynes vs Hayek Debate

The great debate between Keynes and Hayek in rap form!

2017 0

A Knight’s Tale — Investing in Training

William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) in A Knight’s Tale convinces his friends that they should take their winnings and invest it in better training so that they can win bigger prizes in the future.

2017 0

The Economist — How Immigrants Can Save Dying Cities

The Economist outlines the impact that immigrants (particularly young ones) could have profound impacts cities that struggle with revitalization. If you’re looking for a book that details many of the arguments made in this video, I highly recommend Moretti’s New Geography of Jobs.

2017 0

Quartz — Robots Should Pay Taxes

Bill Gates, in an article with Quartz, argues that if a robot which take workers’ jobs should be required to pay taxes. Those tax funds should be redistributed to pay for re-training programs.

2017 0

Marginal Revolution University: Will Machines Take Our Jobs?

Great work from the folks at Marginal Revolution University on the tradeoffs of robotization. I like to break this clip down into 6-7 parts and place clicker questions between the video clips.

2017 1

Life Cycle Considerations in Modern Family

One of the tougher topics to get across to students is why older workers leave the labor force. One explanation for the leave is that they see a decrease in their human capital and that some of their previous training is no longer relevant. This clip does a good job bringing humor to a topic that often sounds derogatory.

Manny tries to teach his step father how to use the double-click feature on his tablet, but Jay struggles to understand.

2016 0

Dangerous Missions: Timber!

Documentary about the many dangers lumberjacks face while doing their work. The impact of the technological advances of chainsaws over the last century in the lumber industry is also highlighted. Great discussion for capital/labor decisions plus scale/substitution effects when capital prices change.

2014 0