(I Think I Need a Title)

Recently there has been some controversy between the city council and the Emporia residents over the entrance monument that is to be placed at the emporia city limits. The controversy involves the cost of the monument which is estimated at $141,265. The residents of Emporia where given no prior knowledge of the monument stone until a down payment had already been payed. The taxes that we as citizens pay is going toward the purchase of the stone, and this didn't make the citizens of Emporia very happy either. They feel that the money could be better spent on other projects to improve Emporia. There were a variety of ideas on how the money could be better spent. One was improving the downtown area by updating the store fronts. Another idea was to use the money to repair the older streets. can you think of better ways that the money could be better spent? Should the locals have been asked to vote on this? Do you think it will help increase tourism?

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a picture of the entrance monument

Daily Struggles - What it Means to be Poor in America

For the past few years, the economy in the United States (and around the world) has been challenging to say the least. You recently read an article about minimum wage in Australia and how some workers are underpaid. Even though the minimum wage in Australia is much higher than it is here, it still has an impact on the lifestyle of the people who live there.

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What does that mean in the US? Did you know that 1 in 3 working families are considered Low Income Families? So, what if you were stuck with a low paying job? How would that affect you and your family? Could you survive? How would you feel about that? What were the most surprising statistics that you read or stories that you heard? Why?

Standard of Living: What does that Mean to You?

When I was a kid, money equaled cool stuff and freedom to do what I wanted. I was lucky that I didn't have to worry about bills and wasn't really concerned about my ability to make money in the future. As an adult, I wish I had been better informed about finances and economics as I was growing up and moving into the world.

I had no idea how other countries handled their money. Why would I have needed to know? I was just a kid. Right? These days the average person has a better understanding of global economics and how the many countries of the world are all intertwined. It's true: our world is becoming flatter and with that comes knowledge and responsibility.

Ask yourself this: Do you have any idea what the minimum wage is in the United States? Does Kansas have a higher minimum wage than what is required by the federal government? Did you know that states have the option of increasing that minimum wage?

Recently, I discovered that in Australia there is a huge concern that foreign workers are being underpaid. Can you guess how little they're being paid? Would you be surprised to know that it's higher than the minimum wage in the United States? Would you be surprised to learn that the minimum wage in Australia for a full-time adult worker is nearly double our minimum wage? Check out this article, Raw Deal for Sushi Workers, to find out more.

Based on what you've read in the article, what are your impressions of the situation? Would that happen here? What if we increased our minimum wage? Would that have an effect on the economy? How does this affect your future? Knowing what you know now, would you be more likely to consider working abroad?