Wall Street Journal: Microeconomics

For almost two decades, shoppers in the United States have struggled to improve their moods through the use of their personal resources. It is for this reason that I choose an article from the Wall Street Journal that provides a glimmer of optimism that investors are beginning to feel optimistic about the economy. According to Austen Hufford's post, consumers are feeling better economically than they have in the previous 17 years. Their personal finances have changed, and according to a survey from the University of Michigan, the preliminary reading of customer confidence increased from 73 percent in March 2016 to 97.6 percent in March 2017. (Austen, 2). In another article by Veronica Dagher’s article talks about how President Donald Trump’s tax proposal will affect individuals and households and individuals should consider deferring income (Veronica, 1).

Consumers and their finances are microeconomics concepts. In macroeconomics, specific economics are studied. In any case, individuals and firms are required to make their personal decisions on allocations of their available resources (Hubbard & Anthony, 5). The same case applies to the article; the consumers feel their personal finances have improved and thus they can spend more. The consumer theory, Game Theory Pricing strategies, and utility theory apply in the articles. The consumer will always try to be rational so as to ensure their finances can sustain them. On the other hand, they will always try to maximize their utility, and pricing decisions may depend on the consumers’ income.

As the first article states, people feel that their personal finances have improved, and so does the American economy. However, I think this is not the case, and the economy is terminally ill. In the second article, individuals should defer incomes since the tax proposal overhaul is expected to maximize benefits

Work Cited

Austen Hufford. The Wall Street Journal on Economy: Personal Finances Help Boost Sentiment. New York: Doubleday/Currency, March 18, 2017. Print, Retrieved from https://psv4.userapi.com/c810326/u3644257/docs/09de524d0232/The_Wall_Street_Journal_March_18_2017.pdf?extra=P1JNSDtvj31rs0Dtvi5ou5ti1yRIrA7r6rAp56bP6koUZN_X8DxUXohdnv3noDPmfIDD3V5SSyabGKYCheD_kEvVFVNkP8uDpwVzAbEn

Hubbard, R G, and Anthony P. O'Brien. Microeconomics. , 2017. Print.

Veronica Dagher. The Wall Street Journal on Economy: Tax Moves to Make Now, Ahead of

Potential Overhaul, May 5, 2017, Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/tax-moves-to-make-now-ahead-of-potential-overhaul-1493976602?tesla=y