Emma+J

**Final Project:**
[|http://popplet.com/app/#/187468]

**Helpful Websites:**
. "Fall of Roman Empire." //Rome.Info//. Rome travel guide, Rome tourist information, hotel booking service for Rome, Italy, n.d. Web. 9 Feb 2012. <[]>. . "The Fall of Ancient Rome." . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb 2012. <[]>. "Good Money, Bad Money and Runaway Inflation." n.d., n. pag. Print. <[]>. Bartlett, Bruce. "How Excessive Government Killed Ancient Rome." //Cato Journal// [NW, Washington, D.C.] Fall 1994, Volume 14 n. pag. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <[]>.

Expert Contacts:
erwin.erhardt@uc.edu - Erwin Erhardt, UC social Economics Professor bertaux@xavier.edu - Nancy Bertaux, St.Xavier Economics Professor dupor.1@osu.edu - William Dupor, OSU Economics Professor James.Dangelo@uc.edu - James D' Angelo, UC Economics Major effi_benmelech@harvard.edu - Effi Benmelech, Harvard Economics professor gopinath@harvard.edu - Gita Gopinath, Harvard Economics Major nancy_waldeck@mail.msj.edu - Nancy Waldeck Assistant Professor

Inflation Articles:
[].Inflation's Weak Boost." Investors Chronicle 6 2 2012, n. pag. Web. 7 Feb. 2012

Questions for the Experts:

 * 1) why doesn't the government set up a set of laws to keep the amount of inflation to a minimum
 * 2) If gold and silver coins are to costly to make why doesn't the government use copper and iron like they use in normal coins today?
 * 3) Could the Government tax the producers who raise prices to control inflation?
 * 4) Which is better Inflation or hyperinflation?
 * 5) What do the citizens have to do may to fix inflation when it occurs?

Roman Research/Facts:

 * 1) Because of so many wars among the cities Rome needed more soldiers, as a result of more soldiers the Romans had to pay more men to fight
 * 2) The rich and wealthy spent to much money on luxury items which cost a lot of money
 * 3) Gold and silver were being used to much in jewelry and buildings such as palaces
 * 4) In the beginning before Nero the average denarii contained 100% silver by 476 AD the average denarii contained only 0.02% silver
 * 5) Rome stopped conquering new lands so the amount of new gold and silver decreased
 * 6) Rome increased the amount of citizens to add to the vast tax net, Rome especially over taxed the rich
 * 7) In Rome barbarians took lots of money when they attacked Roman cities, which caused not only destruction of Roman cities but lack of Roman money in circulation.
 * 8) After the five good emeprors Rome started to experience Hyperinflation

U.S Research/Facts:

 * 1) A dollar from 1950 is now worth only $0.12
 * 2) The annual inflation rate in the United States has fluctuated greatly over its history, ranging from nearly zero inflation to 23% inflation. The federal government tries to keep inflation around 2-3%.
 * 3) If inflation is controlled, it can be a positive force in the economy. It can stimulate the economy, mitigate recessions, provide profits for businesses, raise wages for workers, and reduce the real amount of debt.
 * 4) The dollar has lost 21% of its purchasing power in the last decade
 * 5) if you made a movie in the 1960's that cost $44 million dollars to make, today it would cost $300 million to make the same movie today
 * 6) The U.S has experienced a total of two currency collapses from inflation
 * 7) Today the U.S has gradual inflation which means prices usually go up a year at a time unlike in Rome when they had prices rising rapidly which is also called Hyperinflation

Emails to Contacts:
Dear Professor Waldeck, Greetings, I am a 7th grader at Nagel Middle School. I am emailing about a project my class and I are doing for Roman Economics. As my topic I picked Inflation and I would like to know if you could please answer some of my questions if you have the time? My goal is to use current information and solutions on the topic to determine if I could fix the problem as it was in Rome.

1.How does inflation impact society? I know in ancient Rome they had hyperinflation, but how does inflation effect our society today? 2. Has the U.S. ever had to deal with hyperinflation? If so, how did they solve this issue? 3. What would be a few suggestions that you have that would help an economy facing high inflation?

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Best, -Emma J.

Reply:
Dear Professor Waldeck, Greetings, I am a 7th grader at Nagel Middle School. I am emailing about a project my class and I are doing for Roman Economics. As my topic I picked Inflation and I would like to know if you could please answer some of my questions if you have the time? My goal is to use current information and solutions on the topic to determine if I could fix the problem as it was in Rome.

1.How does inflation impact society? I know in ancient Rome they had hyperinflation, but how does inflation effect our society today?

With inflation, the costs of goods are often higher. As a result, consumers often decrease their spending on goods and services. Likewise, personal savings may decrease as consumers pay more for goods and interest rates for their savings accounts are low.

With inflation, businesses often have to “change menus” and may spend less to improve their equipment and factories (called “capital expenditure”). Often companies respond to this uncertainty by the layoff of workers or sending jobs overseas (“off shoring”) to reduce their production costs. This can further increase consumer uncertainty as they worry about losing their jobs.

2. Has the U.S. ever had to deal with hyperinflation? If so, how did they solve this issue?

Hyperinflation has really not been an issue in the US. Even during the Great Depression in the 1920’s, monetary conditions in the US were not considered as “hyperinflation.” In contrast, Germany suffered greatly from this problem during this time. At one point, a single egg cost millions of German Marks (their dollar)!

The nearest that the US had to hyperinflation was during the Civil War in the mid-1880’s during which the Confederate money neared hyperinflation levels. The regular US currency, however, did not have this problem.

3. What would be a few suggestions that you have that would help an economy facing high inflation?

There are several opinions:

First, countries can stop printing new money. When there is national debt, some countries, including the US, often print more money to provide to have money to pay it. This is a short-term solution which can backfire later since dollars already held are worth less.

Second, some economists suggest that a reduction in government spending can reduce inflation. Again, this is often related to the need for printing of more money. The Federal Reserve makes decisions on printing money.

Third, companies can “insource” jobs. When costs are high and money is worth less, companies may send work overseas (“offshoring”) where labor costs are cheaper. Workers in many countries are paid a lot less than workers in the US.

One way to reduce inflation is to “insource” in which countries bring jobs back to their US facilities and factories. Big companies such as Delta, Masterlock and Ford are starting to “insource” work. This can promote consumer confidence and provide more “real money” into the economy. Also, these companies may build more and better plants and facilities which helps them to stay competitive.

I hope that this helps you, Emma. Please let me know if you need me to explain any of these ideas.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Best, -Emma J. Hello Emma,

Currently, the US Federal Reserve has set interest rates very low. The idea is that consumers will buy more goods since saving accounts pay little interest. Companies will be able to borrow more money at a lower interest for improvements and facilities.

This can work. However, there can be other issues. Individuals with little in savings may not be able to pay living expenses during sustained job losses. They may rely more on government programs to help them get by. (Ex. The US government extended benefits for the unemployed). If enough people need this help, the government may need to print more money to pay for these programs. This will devalue the money and lead to more inflation. Likewise, companies may use the lower interest rates to build improvements but do so outside of the US. This defeats the purpose.

Does this help?

Dear Mr.D'Angelo, Greetings, I am a 7th grader at Nagel Middle School. I am emailing about a project I am doing for Roman Economics. As my topic I picked Inflation and I would like to know if you could please answer some of my questions if you have the time? My goal is to use current information and solutions on the topic to determine if I could fix the problem as it was in Rome.

1.How does inflation impact society? I know in ancient Rome they had hyperinflation, but how does inflation effect our society today? 2. Has the U.S. ever had to deal with hyperinflation? If so, how did they solve this issue? 3. What would be a few suggestions that you have that would help an economy facing high inflation? 4. Why doesn't the government set up a set of laws to keep the amount of inflation to a minimum?

Best- Emma Jacobs

No Reply
Dear Professor Bertaux,

Greetings I am a 7th grader at Nagel Middle School. I am emailing about a project my class and I are doing for Roman Economics. As my topic I picked Inflation and I would like to know if you could please answer some of my questions if you have the time? My goal is to use current information and solutions on the topic to determine if I could fix the problem as it was in Rome.

1.How does inflation impact society? I know in ancient Rome they had hyperinflation, but how does inflation effect our society today? 2. Has the U.S. ever had to deal with hyperinflation? If so, how did they solve this issue? 3. What would be a few suggestions that you have that would help an economy facing high inflation?

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Best, -Emma J.

Solutions from today to help Ancient Rome:

 * 1) The U.S could stop printing more money and instead use the money already in circulation
 * 2) Reduce government spending
 * 3) "Insource" bring jobs back to U.S factories and facilities
 * 4) Less programs for poor people because if to many people go on welfare the more the government spends the money on those programs to help people and when the governnment runs out of funds the just print more money which leads to more inflation