I'm in!!

I've just joined my first Knitalong - it's Knitters of Avalon, and we'll be reading "Mists of Avalon" and knitting something inspired by the book. I haven't read the book yet, but I am definitely intrigued. I wonder what it will inspire me to knit?

Yes, yes, I know you're all worried that this will take precious time away from my dissertation. Don't worry! I *must* read non-economics related books or I will go absolutely insane! Besides, at some point in the (hopefully not-so-distant) future my dissertation will be done, and I hope to have some vestiges of a life left when that happens. So I must maintain what few hobbies I have left. If anyone is interested in my dissertation topic, it is "The World Bank and Poverty - Practices, Policies, and Outcomes". It's really a fascinating read, at least in my opinion.

Since this blog is all my own, I will probably include some interesting Economics-related material from time to time. After all, who doesn't want a bit of Econ mixed with their knitting? Since Bush just submitted his budget proposal to Congress, I'll start off with the difference between "deficit" and "debt". "Deficit" is how much expenditures exceed income (or taxes) for a given year - it's a flow. "Debt" is the acculmulation of all of the deficits and is a stock.

For example: If I make $10 a week (hey, I'm a grad student!), and in week 1 I spend $15 in yarn, my deficit for week one is $5.
If I spend $20 on yarn in week 2, my deficit for week 2 is $10, and my debt is $15 ($10 + $5).

Next time I'll talk about where money comes from, and whether a national deficit is a bad thing.