Fiscal Cliff

The fiscal cliff, essentially, is the "expiration" of tax cuts and simultaneous major, across-the-board spending cuts. Bush tax cuts, the payroll tax, unemployment benefits, and a host of other tax breaks are set to expire on Dec. 31st. The sequester will take effect the very next day. Spending will be reduced significantly and taxes will be increased if an alternative deficit-reduction deal is not agreed upon by the end of 2012. The middle class and small businesses would take the brunt of the impact of the fiscal cliff.

Many economists say that the increased taxes and spending cuts would just be too much deficit reduction when the economy is already in such a weakened state. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that a short recession would ensue if the fiscal cliff becomes reality, slipping the economy further backward. Jobs will be lost, middle class families and individuals will face higher taxes, and small businesses will struggle with the increases, further stressing the already-impaired companies. The fiscal cliff is far from the best case scenario and is feared by economists, congressmen, and ordinary American citizens alike.

The sequester, which is another key component in the fiscal cliff, is a package of automatic spending cuts. These cuts, which are projected to total $1.2 trillion, are set to take effect at the first of the year and end in 2021. The cuts are evenly split between defense spending (with spending on wars exempt) and domestic spending (with spending on social security and medicaid exempt). Many defense specialists warned that the cuts would leave the military "hollowed out." Democratic legislators have similarly warned about the impact the cuts will have on important domestic social programs. The sequester has already been agreed upon, but will not take effect until Jan. 1st, 2013. The supercommittee failed to agree upon an alternative $1.2 trillion deficit-reduction plan by November 23rd, 2011, therefore triggering the sequester. It can still be avoided if Congress passes an alternative budget deal to reduce deficit. This is highly unlikely, as the deadline is rapidly approaching and little to no progress is being made in Congress.

Opportunity Cost

“Think about a time in your life where you had to choose between two or more options. Explain the opportunity cost involved in that decision.”

I am the owner and designer at 17th Avenue, a web and graphic design business. I launched my business online about a year ago and much to my surprise, I've been incredibly successful. I have had the opportunity to work with talented individuals and businesses from around the world. My parents were/are not involved in the business in any way. I am proud to say that I've built my business from the ground up with very little resources.

I am frequently asked if I plan to make a career out of graphic design. My answer is wholeheartedly, without a doubt, no question about it: No. This is not a decision that I came to easily. In fact, it took months of consideration and self-evaluation. I heavily weighed the advantages and disadvantages in either direction. I now know, without a doubt in my mind, that I want to be a Nurse Practitioner. While I love art and the world of design, I am just not entirely comfortable with the idea of being my own boss. Job security is so important to me and I don't want to find myself trapped in such an unpredictable career, as owning an online business is.

There are, of course, benefits and disadvantages to either career path. With nursing, I will be attending a 4-year university, putting off being independent, like we talked about in class. I will have student loans to pay off and will not be living on my own until around 22 (outside of a dorm). But I will be in a stable career with a predictable salary. With graphic design, while I would probably still attend college, it would not be the same experience. I would go to a smaller school with lower tuition costs. I would be out on my own much sooner. But I would be self-employed and business would not always be predictable or profitable. The opportunity cost in choosing nursing over design is forfeiting my independence for an additional 4 years, having to pay off student loans, and not being able to work from home. I am more than willing to make those sacrifices for a stable career, as I talked about in my post about scarcity.

I wonder what other people who also choose/chose nursing school had to give up to be there.

Scarcity

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Security in a career is very important to me. I will be entering a 4-year university next fall, working toward my Bachelor's in Nursing to become an RN. Having a stable career and income is becoming more and more rare these days. I want to be able to sufficiently provide for my own family and have the financial security to own my own home, travel, etc.