This document outlines several key national economic goals: - Economic freedom which allows for individual choice without constraints from government or other groups. - Economic growth which aims to increase the productive capacity of the economy as measured by GDP. - Efficiency in ensuring optimal use of scarce resources and preventing waste. - Equity in considering the fairness of resource distribution across society. - Full employment in utilizing all of a country's resources including workers and capital. - Security in protecting against economic risks through programs like unemployment insurance and bank deposit insurance. - Stability in maintaining steady and predictable prices without drastic inflation or deflation.

1. National Economic Goals
Primary Source Lesson

2. Objectives
● Introduce and define the generally accepted list of national economic
goals.
● Participate in a consensus-building exercise to rank economic goals in
order of importance.
● Use the Four Reads strategy to analyze the Economic Report of the
President.
● Analyze primary sources as an historian.

3. National Economic Goals
Government officials, citizens, and public workers also
have limited resources to satisfy a burgeoning list of
wants and needs, and the reality is that in public life, as
in private life, choices have opportunity costs. Public
choices, like private choices, are driven by goals.
Through government, we establish economic goals and
design policies to achieve them. Because we have
multiple national economic goals and because
individuals’ ranks and weightings of goals vary with time
and circumstance, policy creation is an ongoing
process of making trade-offs.

4. Introduction
Crash Course - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDqGzMdhL1M&t=
President Ronald Reagan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOZ5nfgGTtI

5. Economic Freedom
Individual choice is not constrained by
government or power groups within
the economy
Free market
Antitrust laws and monopolies

6. Economic Growth
Increase in the productive capacity of the economy
GDP and measuring economic growth

7. Efficiency
Ensuring optimal utilization of scarce
resources; prevention of waste of the
nation’s resources; and getting the
most out of available resources
Hunting and fishing limits

8. Equity
People in the society consider the
distribution of resources to be fair
Not equal, but equitable
Progressive tax system

9. Full Employment
A country’s resources – including
workers and capital – are utilized to
capacity (Unemployment no higher
than natural unemployment rate of
about 5%)

10. Security
Protection against economic risks
(e.g. unemployment, destitution in old
age, business failure, bank failure,
drastic price changes)
Faith in the economy
FDIC-insured banks

11. Stability
Prices do not fluctuate rapidly
Little or no inflation
No deflation