One of the most memorable topics I learned about in this class was poverty and how to impact suffering communities effectively. Before taking this class, I never considered how many forms of ‘giving’ may not actually benefit those living in poverty long term at all. It has proven to be extremely important to consider needs from an economic perspective and to not just give for the sake of giving. Especially considering the time of year, I thought this would be a good topic of discussion as many people desire to give Christmas gifts to those underprivileged communities. While it seems like the most effective long-term ‘gifts’ are education and resources to encourage individuals towards entrepreneurship, there are certainly some material gifts that benefit these communities more so than others. According to an article published in the World Bank Blog, providing clean water can reduce infant mortality rates by 35-50% and only cost about $10 per person per year. An even less expensive gift at $0.50 a year is deworming treatments for children. Insecticide-treated bed nets can also reduce the prevalence of malaria which is a leading cause of death in children in developing countries. These cost 5-10 dollars. While it is still crucial to consider the specific needs of the country in which you are giving, these gifts will benefit not only the individual and their family but also the country as a whole. These are just some small ways we can impact poverty together. https://blogs.worldbank.org/impactevaluations/evaluating-the-best-ways-to-give-to-the-poor-guest-post-by-bruce-wydick

According to the Labor Department, between May of 2020 and May 2021, inflation rose to 5% - the highest rise we have seen since 2008. To answer Dr. Baugus' prompt, yes I believe we are experiencing inflation currently, but I would like to elaborate a little bit on how the Covid pandemic specifically has affected current economic trends. The prices of certain items increased during the pandemic due to certain product shortages, such as silicon - I noticed this first hand when purchasing a new laptop this summer. However, supply and demand has also affected inflation recently due to the sudden increase in people willing to travel since the Covid pandemic. The unusually high increase in inflation in May was significantly impacted by the demand for used cars since most people chose to drive over flying or public transportation. Now that the travel industry is reopening hotel prices are up 10% versus last year and airfare is up 24% according to the Washington Post. The good news is that these spikes are expected to flatten out as the economy adjusts to the shock that the pandemic caused. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/06/10/inflation-what-to-know/