I've Never Been to Trader Joes

Today I take my Microeconomics final that should have been optional, but I failed myself. My over-all course grade is a B right now, so here I am trying to get 13 extra points so I can end this semester with 2 As.

Of course, the bulk of yesterday was spent looking at Groupon Getaways and calculating drive time from Austin to various locations of interest around the country. I hate living in Texas most when I consider how long it takes to drive across it. The truth is I have only been outside of Texas twice in my life: a trip for dental work for my mother in Mexico and a trip for alcohol poisoning in New Orleans. 

The first trip should be a good indicator of the economic conditions in which I grew up: poor. 

The low representation of real poverty and struggle in the American sitcom is odd considering in 2011 40% of American families held 13.1% of American wealth and fewer people consider themselves to be "middle class." Sure, being poor and growing up poor shouldn't be funny- but it is! People facing adversity can be incredibly funny because humor makes for a great coping mechanism. Why wouldn't people want to watch comedies that centered on characters trying to break into the lower middle class?

But back to the title- I have never been inside a Trader Joes. I have only been outside of Texas twice. These are important solely because the ability to travel is tied into disposable income which ties into income distribution WHICH is what I am currently studying for my final. 

Some of Microeconomics has been a little hard to take in because of my liberal social views- take for instance "signaling." People who have gone through higher education tend to have higher incomes. The human capital theory is that higher education makes people more productive. The "signaling" theory states that people who continue school show an innate productivity because it is easier for high ability people to earn degrees. This is an incredibly frustrating idea. Having worked in offices for a while now I have met some incredibly inept people who have obtained degrees,I am sure we all have, they are excellent sitcom material, and proof that the signaling theory behind why higher education workers are more desirable is not always accurate. 

Maybe I am too empathetic- theory probably takes a degree of distance from circumstances of the individual.