I will spend the first three or four weeks of this class lecturing using PowerPoint slides. I will first give a simple introduction to the U.S. economy based on statistics. Then I will make a presentation as to the strengths of the U.S. economy. After these first two presentations, I will split the class time 50-50 between student presentations and my own presentations. Both students and I will give presentations on the troubles facing the U.S. economy. Examples of these are the housing crisis, health care, social security, the low savings rate and the current account deficit. Students, or groups of students (depending on class size), will also give two other types of presentations. (1) Reports on a series of papers I have collected concerning various U.S. markets and institutions and (3) brief reports concerning the week’s top U.S. economic news. 75% of the grade will be based on the presentations and class participation. 25% will be based on a final exam.