What Are We Learning Today? 9.2.4. What is the role of the consumer in market and mixed economies?

What Are We Learning Today?

9.2.4. What is the role of the consumer in market and mixed

economies?

Consumerism

• Consumerism is an _________ ______that says the _____ ppl buy, the ______ it is for the economy.

• In economies based on consumerism, consumer ________ plays a ____ role in economic ________ making.

• What guides your behaviour as a consumer? Pg. 243.

Identity

• The choices we make as consumers can reflect our identity.

• Critical thinking challenge pg. 244.

Marketing

• Marketing & Did You Know? pg. 254.

• How to Analyze Advertising pg. 255.

How to Analyze Advertising

Bandwagon Effect• Encourages you to buy a product or service

because _________ else is.• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BW5VTyqK

rw

Emotional Appeal• Uses strong emotional language that connects

with your _____ and ______. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4kNl7cQdcU

Glittering Generalities• Relates the product or service to words or

images that promise _________, but deliver _____ or _______.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8RCfMDG3bA&feature=related

Plain Folks Appeal• Relates a product or service to the experience

of _______ folks. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=TqHSIiAXdSU

Testimonials• Uses _________ or _______ to speak for a

product.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0AGiq9j_Ak

Scientific Appeal• Used statistics or _________ ______ to

persuade consumers to buy a product or service.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8BeGgT1v5M

Other Commercials

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3aP5Ks7e1s

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDcWRUtrVuc

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo9pFniB8aQ

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wqvC_E0zI8

Jobs

• When you take a product, you connect to a chain of ppl and their jobs. Your choice is part of what keeps them employed.

• Ballpoint pen pg. 250.

Measures of Economic Growth

• Economic growth is the degree to which a country’s wealth increases over a period of time (usually a year). Measures of economic growth include:

– How much profit a country’s economy makes from the goods and services it produces.

– How many ppl have jobs and are making an income.

Environment

• Your choices as a consumer also _____ the ___, _____, and ______ that you share with everybody.

• What is your pen made of? pg. 252.

Legislation about Consumerism and the Environment

• Canada and the US have laws and programs related to consumer demand and the environment. For example:

– Both gov’ts have banned leaded gasoline, because of the harmful effects of lead on human health and the environment.

– Consumers shopping for new appliances in both Canada and the US can identity energy-efficient options because of gov’t programs that label these appliances.

Kennecott Mine

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9Df0_-OxDc

• Pg. 253.

• Cartoons about Consumerism pg. 256.

Health & Safety

• Federal law requires warnings on products such as cigarettes to discourage consumers from buying them. As the warnings tell you, smoking can lead to cancer and heart disease. Despite the warnings, however, adults can still buy cigarettes.

• Some gov’ts in Canada have gone further. They have _______ some products and made them unavailable to consumers.

Legislation about Consumer Health & Safety

• Consumer health and safety is the focus of legislation in both Canada & the US – or the focus of debates about it. For example:

– Both Canada & the US have product-labelling laws that require producers to list the ingredients in food and cosmetics.

– The US has laws making airbags mandatory in cars, along with seat belts. In 2007, Canada’s laws made only seat belts mandatory.

Homework• Read “Schools ban junk food” and “Calgary

eateries reduce trans fats” on pg. 248-249. • Answer the following questions:

– How might a ban on junk food or trans fats affect demand for food products? How might it affect producers who supply junk food to schools or foods with trans fats to restaurants?

– Why might Canadians have different views about decisions to ban some products?

– How much control should consumers have over choices that affect their health and safety?

What’s GDP?• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the amount

of _____ a country’s economy _________. The term per capita means “average per person.” So, GDP per capita is a way to estimate how well off ppl are in a country.

Exact Figures GDP per capita (2007)

- Canada $33,000

- Mexico $12,500

- US $46,000• GDP Per Capita pg. 261

Boycotts

• A boycott is a decision by consumers to _____ buying a product or service as a way to bring about change.

• A boycott usually has a moral or ethical reason behind it.

What Are We Learning Today?

9.2.5. What societal values underlie social programs in

Canada and the United States?

What are Social Programs?

• Social programs are services provided by the gov’t and paid for by taxes. They aim to reduce economic _________ (the gap between the rich and poor) and promote the well-being of all citizens.

What Counts as a Social Program?

• Social programs can include health care, pensions for seniors, income assistance, education, affordable housing, child protection services, employment insurance, child care, etc.

Differences Between Canadian & American Social Programs

• The decision by a gov’t to provide, or not provide, social programs comes from different economic philosophies and different values. In Canada, gov’ts generally support the idea of using taxes to provide services to citizens. In the US, the gov’ts support this idea less.

Health Care

• Comic pg. 272.

• Canada has public health care. This means that ______ funds (taxes) pay for it. The US has private health care. This means that _______citizens cover the costs of their _____ medical needs. It also means that health care is more like a _______, where ppl can offer health services to make a _______.

What is Health Insurance?

• In the US, many ppl buy health insurance to cover the _____ of care. They pay money to a company on a regular basis, whether they are sick or not. If they become sick, the insurance company covers their ________ costs. For many Americans, health insurance, like health care, costs more than they can afford.

What’s the connection between taxation and social programs?

• Gov’t collects taxes to pay for the services it provides to citizens, such as social programs.

• In Canada, both the _______ and __________ gov’ts collect taxes. The federal gov’t transfers some of the taxes it collects to the provinces. For social programs, these include the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer.

What’s the connection between taxation and social programs?

• Individual Canadian citizens pay 2 kinds of tax to the federal gov’t and to their provincial gov’t: income tax and sales tax.

• _______ _____is based on what you earn: the more money you earn, the more tax you pay.

• _______ ____are based on what you spend on products and services: the more you spend, the more tax you pay. The federal Goods and _________ _____ (GST) is a sales tax that everybody in Canada pays. (DYK Pg. 281.)

What do taxes pay for in Canada?

• Graphs pg. 282.

• What percentage of gov’t spending did social programs represent in 2007?

What is a Taxation Model?• A __________ ______ is a policy of a political

party or gov’t about what to tax, how much to tax, and how to spend taxes.

Tax Evasion• _______ _________means to misrepresent (lie

about) what you earn to avoid paying taxes.

• In all countries, including Canada, it’s against the law to avoid paying taxes. Canadians must report what they earn, so gov’t can determine and collect the tax they owe.

• All the economic activity in a society that gov’ts tax is called the ____ ______. The tax base pays for the services provided by gov’t, such as social programs.

The Black Market

• Ppl who work without paying taxes are part of the ___________ ________or black market. It is seen as “underground” because it functions in secret from the gov’t and involves buying and selling products and services illegally.

• Comic pg. 284.

• The Economic Excavator pg. 285.

Quality of Life• Your quality of life is a measure of your

personal and collective well-being (how happy you are.) Things that measure QOL include education, health, safety, and income. However, just because you have these DOES NOT necessarily mean you’ll be happier.

• In general, a person’s quality of life is related to their level of consumption. The more money you have to spend on things you need and want, the happier you usually are.

Quality of Life & Consumerism

• Your QOL influences the choices you make as a consumer while the choices you make as a consumer can influence your QOL. They work BOTH ways.

• The choices you make as a consumer can also impact the QOL of others. For example, your consumer decisions can create employment for others (a positive), or hurt everyone’s enjoyment of the environment (a negative).