Teen Titans Go — The Gold Standard

The gang tries to catch a leprechaun for St. Patrick’s Day so that they can get his three wishes. In their quest, Beast Boy uses one of his wishes to become a leprechaun and beings to “live the leprechaun life” which includes a lust gold. Beast boy sells all of his friend’s stuff in exchange for gold. He then announces that his goal is to get the government back on the gold standard and attempt to fix the exchange rate. They go on to explain the rationale behind the gold standard and Nixon’s authorization to end the gold standard.

Thanks to “Mike on Twitter” for posting about the clip!

Teen Titans on the Gold Standard pic.twitter.com/8TyGOOTdVL
— 𝕄𝕚𝕜𝕖 (@mikeinspace) August 2, 2020

2020 0

Billy Paul — Let the Dollar Circulate

I reached out to #EconTwitter and asked what songs they like to use to teach different topics in their classes and the results did not disappoint:

I need some help #teachEcon! What's your favorite song(s) to play for class that's associated with economics topics you're teaching that lesson?

— Jadrian Wooten (@Wootenomics) August 15, 2018

Since I’m not a macroeconomist, I have very little content on the macro side from tv and movies, but apparently music covers a lot of macro topics. The first suggestion was this 1975 Billy Paul song, Let the Dollar Circulate which begs for money to start flowing through the economy and wonders why things have slowed down (Is it all because of Watergate?). Paul notes that “Things are gettin’ higher, makes it hard on the buyers” (inflation is happening) and “Unemployment on the rise.” The song was released at the end of the 1973-1975 recession. I was curious what unemployment and inflation looked like in the 1970s leading up to the recession, so I went and put together a FRED chart for you:

Thanks to Leo for the song suggestion!

2018 0

US White House — Nixon Orders a Price Freeze

Watch Nixon address the nation during a period of high inflation. Nixon’s decision to implement price freezes across the United States sounds like a great policy, but the inefficiency of price manipulation typically outweighs the benefits that some consumers receive. Here’s a nice summary from the Cato Institute.

2017 0