2008 Woodie Awards
Hurting economy puts pressure on U.S. businesses, students
Erika Hepburn
Issue date: 11/19/07 Section: News
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Employees at Wolfden Dairy in Kearney milk about 600 cows three times a day. From there, the milk is transported to a cheese plant in Ravenna and a Robert's milk plant in Omaha. This sounds normal enough, but recently the price of obtaining and transporting milk has increased dramatically.
"Since gas prices are rising and more people are demanding ethanol, the corn prices rise, which means feed prices for cows rise and the cost for transporting the goods also rises," said Emma Wolfe, a sophomore advertising major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, whose father owns Wolfden Dairy.
"When demand is strong and supply is low, prices increase. Oil is an input of production for many business, so when its price goes up, the costs of production increase and you will tend to see a general increase in the prices you will pay for goods and services," said Carlos Asarta, an economics lecturer at UNL.
The increasing prices of foods and ethanol are not the only things straining the American economy, he said.
Unemployment numbers are also strong, with the October 2007 unemployment rate at 4.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Analysis.
Asarta said it's important to stay ahead of the curve.
"Students should always be looking for opportunities that will differentiate them from others. Do a summer internship, volunteer or be involved in the community," Asarta said.
Also, the American dollar has decreased in value.
"Exchange rates, or the price of currencies in terms of other currencies are determined by demand and supply," Asarta said.
The market continuously pushes the dollar to record lows against the Euro and to new lows in comparison with the Yen and the Canadian dollar. And though having a weak dollar is caused by and shows the elevated risk of a recession in the country, "this should help correct trade deficits by increasing U.S. exports and decreasing U.S. imports of goods and services," Asarta said. "On the other hand, traveling to foreign countries, which is a popular choice for U.S. students, is becoming more prohibitive. Traveling to Europe is about 40 percent more expensive for students now than it was a couple of years ago."
"Since gas prices are rising and more people are demanding ethanol, the corn prices rise, which means feed prices for cows rise and the cost for transporting the goods also rises," said Emma Wolfe, a sophomore advertising major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, whose father owns Wolfden Dairy.
"When demand is strong and supply is low, prices increase. Oil is an input of production for many business, so when its price goes up, the costs of production increase and you will tend to see a general increase in the prices you will pay for goods and services," said Carlos Asarta, an economics lecturer at UNL.
The increasing prices of foods and ethanol are not the only things straining the American economy, he said.
Unemployment numbers are also strong, with the October 2007 unemployment rate at 4.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Analysis.
Asarta said it's important to stay ahead of the curve.
"Students should always be looking for opportunities that will differentiate them from others. Do a summer internship, volunteer or be involved in the community," Asarta said.
Also, the American dollar has decreased in value.
"Exchange rates, or the price of currencies in terms of other currencies are determined by demand and supply," Asarta said.
The market continuously pushes the dollar to record lows against the Euro and to new lows in comparison with the Yen and the Canadian dollar. And though having a weak dollar is caused by and shows the elevated risk of a recession in the country, "this should help correct trade deficits by increasing U.S. exports and decreasing U.S. imports of goods and services," Asarta said. "On the other hand, traveling to foreign countries, which is a popular choice for U.S. students, is becoming more prohibitive. Traveling to Europe is about 40 percent more expensive for students now than it was a couple of years ago."
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