Project NPR: Analyzing Current Events, as an Economist and Scholar of Governmental Studies

1. Project NPR: Analyzing Current Events, as an Economist and Scholar of Governmental Studies Authored by Jasmin Figueroa, Reynaldo Hernández, Rebecca Herrera

2. Safe Drinking Water for All? • Economic: Designing a cheaper, more cost effective way to clean and purify drinking water allows more communities worldwide to benefit and for investors to make profits from selling cheap purifiers. • Government: Third world governments around the world can enact new policies to better the living standards of their people.

3. Global Warming • Economic: Companies can be given incentives to reduce their CO2 emissions and switch to alternative energies. • Government: Governments can invest public money into new energy ventures and promote a change in energy consumption.

4. Russian Elections • Economic: Russia reelects former president, keeps things the same, stagnates industry and forces private industry to relocate capital outside country due to heavy economic restrictions. • Government: Totalitarian policies force people to hide, flee country and create a brain drain.

5. Planned Parenthood’s Dilemma in Texas • Economic: Lucrative business and industry forced to almost hide, reduced funding and reduced output. • Government: Conservative policies aimed at enforcing religious beliefs over individual rights and stagnating progress. The beliefs of one forced on all.

6. No More Cal State? • Economic: Educating less students results in less domestic employees for business, less money that stays home to invest in infrastructure, etc. • Government: People without access to education result in a heavier burden to society as a whole.

7. Psychologie du Fraud • Economic: Businesses compromise morals for a profit, no moral ethics. • Government: Politicians can and have sometimes lied to appeal to people or make false promises in elections.

8. Split Views on Gay Marriage • Economic: Legalizing gay marriage can create a new industry that creates jobs and pumps money into the economy. • Government: Government's role should be to provide equal rights for all and not force the morals of one religion to the general populace.

9. High Speed Rail’s Promise • Economic: States aren’t funding their aging rail infrastructure and that has effects on shipping and passengers such as longer times, decreased profits. Increased stimulus spending benefits state/national economies. • Government: Government should invest more in HSR to strengthen infrastructure and reduce dependency on diesel, greenhouse fuels.