POLS 207 Lecture 6
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End Exam 1 content
Exam will cover through Chapter 5
Public Goods
- non-excludable in that every citizen has access to public goods
- non-rivaling in that more for one person does not mean less for another person
free-riding is when someone (rationally) decides not to pay taxes for a particular public good
Examples:
- National defense
- Public highways
- Public parks
- Water distribution systems
rational choice concept that each individual makes decisions to maximize his/her utility
Socialization is the "training" for us to rationally make seemingly irrational choices (like giving someone's wallet back... even though that would be the right thing to do)
Taxes
Regressive taxes disproportionately "punish" poor people. 5% of $1.00 would "hurt more" than 5% of $1,000,000
Progressive taxes seem more fair to poor people (land grant taxes from wealthy used to pay tuition for underprivileged students)
Per-Capita Income
average income per citizen
Chapter 5
Cost of living factors in: Cost of Living Calculator