Applying Economics To Current Events

There are so many events going on in the world today. There is a housing market issue, health care reform issue, and companies fighting for paid sick leave from their jobs. There are many more this is just to name a few. The housing market is going to start booming again for a short time. The health care reform created by Obama will continue to be an issue for a long time, and companies are fighting to get paid sick leave when they are ill. There are so many things that have changed in the world, and it sure is not what it used to be. First, the housing market is starting to come back to business, but it is taking some time. â€Å"Between 2002 and 2007, the population of prospective homeowners grew at an average annual rate of 2. 5 million. Over this same time period, the number of households increased by average of 1. 1 million. And to accommodate these newly formed households, homebuilders built an average of 1. 7 million housing units a year† (Maxfield, 2013). That is great for some people. When the United States was in the recession, there were many of people that lost almost everything that they owned. Anyone that is looking to buying a home, or having one built should take careful planning before doing so. People should consider that the United States could go into another recession at any time. Is the person going to be able to afford their home? That is the number one question a person should ask themselves. There are many people that try to live outside of their means. Sure it is nice if the person has a good job that is secure. Most jobs are not securing anymore, especially health care. The health care reform has everyone up in a roar. Some people agree with the reform and others do not. Something has been pulled out of the Affordable Care Act and, â€Å"It gives states just enough power over insurance marketplaces and the Medicaid expansion to continue the unequal and unfair distribution of state-based social services. It allows states to eviscerate Medicaid in ways that don't make sense† (Vox, 2013). The states are still going to have control over everything and even more now. â€Å"In some states, Medicaid pays to save the life of a stroke victim in the hospital, but then denies adequate ehabilitation services and devices to prevent that person's ongoing health problems from rapidly placing further strain on the thin social-service safety net†(Vox,2013). Medicaid used to cover everything that a patient would need. There should not be a change in that. There are some people that cannot afford health care coverage on their own. If a person has a job and the company offers insurance, then yes a person should take it. The people that take advantage of the system and does not take the offered insurance and stays on Medicaid should be fined. Employers are going to have to start paying for their employees to have insurance. The company must have at least 50 full-time employees to start the mandatory coverage. When a company does not provide the coverage, the company will get fined between $2000. 00 and $3000. 00. There are many of companies that do not have that many employees. What are going to happen to all of the small businesses? Are they going to get shut down? Are they going to get a fine for not having some type of insurance coverage for the employees? There are still un-answered questions and there are people wondering what is going to their jobs when the Affordable Care Act goes into full effect. There are also companies that do not offer paid sick leave. There are many states that have already got the law passed that it is mandatory for employers to offer paid sick leave. There may be some people that would abuse the privilege of having this, and not wanting to offer it. There are still honest people in the world that it could be an advantage to. Many people have families and cannot afford to call-in sick when they have the flu, or another illness. That is where the paid sick leave would come in. Employees coming to work sick could be a bigger risk then not letting them have to day off. It could be difficult for some smaller businesses to offer this because of the costs. The restaurant industry could get hit pretty hard because of the administrative costs as well as having to cover peoples’ shifts that are unable to go to work. â€Å"The U. S is the only major industrialized nation without a national paid sick-leave policy Some 145 countries provide paid sick days for short- or long-term illnesses. Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Singapore require employers to provide at least 10 paid sick days† (Koba, 2013). In Conclusion, the world is not what it used to be. The government is eventually going to control the whole world and nobody will have a say on anything. The housing market is slowly coming back up, but are the people going to be able to get a new home and afford it later down the line? The United States is not promising that it will not get back into another recession so the person better only hope that they have a safe, secure job. The Affordable Care Act will be completely controlled by the government, and Medicaid patients will not have the coverage they once had. Companies do not offer paid sick leave to the employees, but some states are trying to make it a law.