NFL Draft

It is no secret that the NFL Draft is a major event for many athletes and tourists. The economic impact this event has on its hosted area is quite astonishing. This draft will take place in Kansas City for the year 2023 and it is expected to see around 350,000 visitors during this period. The city is expecting to see 62 million dollars spent on accommodation, 6 million on transportation, 17 million on foods and beverages, and 8.6 million in general business spending. With high numbers such as these, it has cities like Kansas City considering hosting events in the future like possible World Cup games. Large sporting events have a huge start-up cost, although the overall benefit of these events outway the initial costs. The overall economic impact of major sports events is continuously showing positive outcomes. More visitors to cities means more profit for local businesses and corporations. This is again good for the cities, but it also raises the question of where this money is going. On the exterior large cities might seem nice, although low-income neighborhoods are abundant within these same areas. If large cities were to take more sporting events like World Cup games into consideration would we see a change in something like this or would it only create more problems? It is easy to only focus on the large amount of money that is to come from hosting events. Therefore, there has to be a cost-benefit analysis done when looking to have large sports performances come to your city. There is a great economic benefit when hosting things like the NFL Draft, although many cities choose to keep away from the continuous flow of tourists. 

Source:

• Palmer, T. (2022, November 2). NFL Draft, World Cup each expected to generate $100m-plus in economic impact. KSHB 41 Kansas City News. Retrieved April 7, 2023, from https://www.kshb.com/sports/nfl-draft-world-cup-each-expected-to-generate-100m-plus-in-economic-impact#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20Both%20the%202023%20NFL%20Draft,according%20to%20Kansas%20City%2C%20Missouri.  

Chat GPT and the Economy

We have all heard by now about the artificial intelligence chatbot platform, Chat GPT. It has been quite a revolutionary development in the AI industry, but what impacts does/will it have on our economy? Many fear that the program will replace some jobs or even industries. However, it opens doors to completely new industries. AI Chatbots can lead to improvements in sustainability, education, science, entrepreneurship, and personal finance. 

It is unknown how large the effect will be, but it is undeniable that we will definitely see a change in our economy due to this technology. However, it is also important to make sure chatbots are used ethically and that any biases are eliminated from systems. 

https://innotechtoday.com/chat-gpt-is-just-the-beginning-of-the-ai-economy/

Elite Women Changing Basketball for Themselves

Women's basketball has never been big in todays society. Whether it is NCAA or WNBA, there has always been a big difference between its partnered men sports. As March Madness comes to an end, we have  witnessed a shift in women's basketball as it continues to get bigger and bigger. 

Well before last weekend, it was clear that the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament of this year would go down in history. Discussions over the best player have been blooming. The level of play is really high. Most significantly, there are more viewers than ever before.It’s worth celebrating that viewership for women’s basketball is skyrocketing, even though eyes on the men's game has declined.

ESPN said viewership for the women’s Sweet 16 was up 73% compared to last year, averaging 1.2 million viewers per game. Elite 8 viewership was up 43% for an average of 2.2 million per game.

Not only are more people watching the women's game at home, but it will also cost more money to attend the women's Final Four in person than the men's Final Four. The lowest price for tickets to both women's games on StubHub as of Thursday was $428 before fees, while the lowest price for both the men's games was $68.

Meanwhile, secondary market prices for the women's semifinal and final in Dallas this weekend more than doubled compared to 2022 figures, according to ticketing technology company Logitix. The price per ticket for the semifinal was $367, up 120% over 2022. And the price for the final was $351, up 103% over the prior year.

Secondary market prices for the men's semifinal was down 26% from last year to $819 and down 28% for the final to $415.

The demand for women's sports is increasing, which is fantastic and shows that if you invest in it, fans will come.

Social Security Benefits Cut Off

     Social Security Benefits are forecasted to runout in 2031. Social Securities are paying out more in benefits than it is collecting in pay roles and interest. As the baby boomers continue to age there are fewer people working and fewer people paying into the system. The trust fund is going to run out cash for the system in about ten years. If this happens, everyone that relies on social securities checks will have theres cut by about 23%. So, do we need to raise taxes or cut benefits or higher the retirement age to help this foreseeable crisis?

    Politicians have not been looking into this whatsoever. Apparently it is way too far down the line to focus into for a parties four year term. Economists say the sooner we focus upon this crisis the sooner it gets solved. The later we got focus upon this crisis the worse it will get and the harder it will be to solve. 

    Most economists suggest not to look into something directly, but to look at all aspects. For example, instead of cutting out a big chunk of retirement (401k), cut a little from retirement, raise taxes a little and increase payroll. Maybe you even decrease benefits from upper class people. If wealthy people already have a lot of money in their retirement, why do they need social security?

To conclude, Social Security benefits and medicare is something retirees rely on. We cannot just take that away from them. This matter needs to be dealt with sooner than later.

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/31/1167378958/social-security-medicare-entitlement-programs-budget