We spent the entire period preparing an outline for Natalie's essay on the history of money and the abandonment of the gold standard. We traced the history of money from Colonial times to the abandonment of the gold standard in 1971 , and discussed how the Federal Reserve maintains the value of the paper currency in the absence of the gold standard. Natalie took extensive notes on the outline and is prepared to commence writing. The first draft is due on May 2. We additionally reviewed Natalie's homework on federal expenditures and revenues and added to her notes the two major sources of federal revenues: income taxes and payroll taxes. On the whiteboard,I illustrated the difference between a progressive tax and regressive tax. We will complete the unit on federal expenditures and the deficit tomorrow.