Market Economy

Market Economy

     I think that the market economy is good to an extent. I say this because this type of economy allows many changes to occur gradually. It also allows individual freedom to anyone who wishes to make their own decisions in the market, but also allows others to choose what they want to produce, which provides a variety of goods. The market economy can also be good because there is limited government interference which allows the government to be free for other tasks. 

     What I don't like about the market economy is that the government has to take care of many public goods. I have experience with this because my mother has healthcare through the government, and she doesn't receive the best of health care. The reason being she has long wait periods for paperwork to be looked at, but she also she doesn't meet some criteria to get a dental plan through the government medical care, meaning she has teeth pain all the time. What I also don't like about the market economy is that Health insurance companies won't accept my mother because she is extremely ill (and has a high chance of dying before they make a profit off of her), and she has to go through the government to get health care.

Question: I would like to know if it would be possible to make laws that require Health insurance companies to accept anyone no matter their illnesses. I would also like to know how health insurances pay the high medical bills when a persons monthly bill is low (how do they make a profit off of a person)?

Opportunity Cost

     Opportunity Cost in My Life.

     When I was about 14 years old I had saved up about $100. I wanted to save this money so I would be able to buy my own Ipod; however, I also wanted to buy books because I love reading. Then, one day my father saw an add in the Sunday Oregonian for a Xbox 360 on sale for $199.99, so he offered to pay the other half of the price right then for me if I decided to stop my incoming allowing until I had paid off what my dad had pitched in to help me get the Xbox 360. I chose to get the Xbox 360.

     The opportunity cost of this was that I wasn't able to get the Ipod, and because of that I had to wait until Christmas until I received my first Ipod Shuffle. The other cost of this was I didn't become familiar with I-Tunes until I had the Ipod; additionally, during that summer I didn't receive my allowance (*and stopped permanently afterwards). I wasn't able to buy small things like candy, etc.; however, during that summer I was able to read more (without an Ipod for distraction) and kept my mind sharp, I also started to understand the concept of buying only what you need, not always spending money on items I wanted. Another opportunity cost, I wan't able to buy the books, and lost out on the opportunity to learn more from the books I might have found when I browsed in the store.

      When I look back on the decision, I believed I made a good one because I can always checkout books from the library both school and public (this summer I finally made excellent use of the public library-I read over 30 books, probably more....). And I received an Ipod for Christmas later that year. And I also received a newer Ipod Nano the following Christmas, and finally my Ipod Touch the febuary following the next Christmas by "working" (cleaning). And in the time since I bought my Xbox 360 I've had probably thousands of hours of fun playing it. I have also learned that when it comes to games I have excellent memory. But I have also had numerous problems arise from having the Xbox 360, like only playing it on the weekends because it is very distracting when one needs to do homework. But I have also learned that I like reading and learning more than  videogames (this summer, this concept finally took hold in me). 

Question: But I also wonder if I had chosen to save the money instead of spend it (which at 14, it was hard for me to save at all because I always wanted something new), what I would have been able to buy, and if it would have affected my life like the Xbox has. I would also like to know why items are priced the way they are today, even when I was younger because I want to know how those prices have affected me today.

Scarcity, Yo!

Scarcity, yo!

     I chose the image of the beach because in my family we don't  go on vacations, camping trips, or even a visit to the beach for the day very often because my family can't afford the gas it requires to get to the beach or take a vacation. So, we miss out on the opportunity to spend more time together having fun; additionally, we miss out on time to get away from our home to just relax and have fun.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Man_o'war_cove_near_lulworth_dorset_arp.jpg/300px-Man_o'war_cove_near_lulworth_dorset_arp.jpg