Oftentimes, politicians are criticized for not having a basic understanding of simple economics, causing them to make rash decisions not backed up by economic theory. That's why it can get interesting when the two worlds of politics and economics combine, which is where Mr. Tom Rooney, Economics teacher at Leyden High School and former member of the Illinois State Senate comes in. In part one of this podcast series, Mr. Rooney discusses different economic systems with varying degrees of government involvement, the importance of competition in a market, and how he balanced between his education and political career.