202Z Summer 2026 Economic Current Events and Their Effect on You

This course will continue the course from winter 2026 with added topics. It will examine and discuss the major recent economic events and their impact on households and how the reaction of households to these events can affect the economy. The major topics that will be discussed include, but will

not be limited to: 1) immigration—what are the benefits and what are the costs?; 2) international trade and industrial policy—who benefits from trade and who loses?; 3) growing inequality in income and wealth—is it necessarily a bad thing?; (4) The economic impact of increasing federal debt; 5) financing the costs of higher education. Would canceling student debt help increase access to higher education?; (6) Social Security and MEDICARE—how will the looming huge deficits in these trust funds affect you; e.g., cuts in benefits, raises in taxes, or a combination of both?; 7) inflation and disinflation– its causes and effects and the policies needed to moderate it. Students will have the opportunity to suggest

other topics.

Elliott Dubin holds a Ph.D degree in Economics and was the director of policy research at the Multistate Tax Commission from 1999 to 2019. More recently, he was a member of the board of the VA 529 plan and treasurer of the non-profit Hartwood Foundation.