ePortfolio Assignment

Questions and Answers

1) According to the authors, Adam Smith wrote of the three essential roles of government. a) What are these three roles? i) First, the duty of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies. ii) Second, the duty of protecting, as far as possible, every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it, or the duty of establishing an exact administration of justice. iii) Thirdly, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and certain public institutions, which it can never be for the interest of any individual, or small number of individuals, to erect and maintain; because the profit could never repay the expense to any individual or small number of individuals, though it may frequently repay it to a great society. b) What is the fourth role of government that the author added to Adam Smiths list? i) The duty to protect members of the community who cannot be regarded as responsible individuals. 2) What are the four arguments in favor of tariffs? a) National Security Argument A thriving domestic industry is needed for defense. b) Infant Industry Argument A particular industry, if once established and assisted during its growing pains, could compete on equal terms in the world market if it was protected by a temporary tariff. c) Beggar-thy-neighbor A country that is a major producer of a product, or that can join with a small number of other producers that together control a major share of production, may be able to take advantage of its monopoly position by raising the price of the product. d) Protect the Dollar - Free trade would be fine if all other countries practiced free trade but that so long as they do not, the United States cannot afford to. 3) To solve the problems of welfare programs, the authors proposed two essential components of reform. What are they? a) Negative Income Tax b) Wind down Social Security while meeting existing obligations 4) The Friedmans discuss countries/governments that experienced hyperinflation at various times in history. List the countries/governments that were affected during the historical period below: a) 1860s i) The South during the American Civil War b) After World War I i) Russia ii) Germany

c) After World War II i) China ii) Hungary d) 1970s i) Chile ii) Argentina iii) United States 5) The authors wrote that liberty is enhanced when government promotes personal equality or equality of opportunity. Alternatively, when the government promotes fair shares for all, liberty is reduced. Using the fair shares for all concept to calculate class grades, all students would receive an average grade (C+). This would be accomplished by taking points away from students earning As & Bs to give to students earning Ds & Es. Distributing points equally would result in fair grades for all. a) Would you approve of this method in calculating your final grade? Why or why not? b) How would this differ from fair shares for all economically? c) In your own words, explain your thoughts in a minimum of three paragraphs. i) I would not approve of this method in calculating my final grade. There are certain principles in this life that can be taught and learned by study and example. If followed, they will lead one to entertain a more successful life. But, if people are not given the opportunity to learn those principles sometimes by difficult experiences they will not have the same opportunities in life as those that learned them. I think everybody deserves a chance at learning, by cause-and-effect, the natural principles of this world and society that we live in. By not allowing natural consequence to take their role for certain people, those individuals will be robbed of learning opportunities that could lead them to enjoy a more successful life. It is true that some do have a harder time learning than others. While it differs in the type of success (grades vs money), the principle is the same regarding a fair shares for all economy versus a fair shares for all grading system. It is true that it is important to help others get back on their feet. It is important that it is done in such a way as to not rob them of a learning opportunity. At the same time, they still deserve the opportunity to experience most of the consequences of their actions in order to learn from them. I think it is only just that those that have learned the principles of hard-work and risk-taking deserve to not have to suffer yet one more time. They have most likely already suffered the consequences of past mistakes, and now deserve to reap the benefits of the application of their hard-earned education. There is no need for them to repeatedly suffer because somebody else has yet to learn what they already have learned. With new people constantly entering the world, there will always be new people to learn those same principles, and from those same mistakes.

Because of the continuous refresh cycle of the earths population, a fair shares for all economy is a myth. No matter how hard we try to avoid doing so, somebody must always pay the price of actions previously taken. A just system would ensure that the person that pays the price is the person whos action the consequence is tied to. This would ensure they are not robbed of the opportunity to learn from their actions. It will also ensure that those that have already learned are not robbed of the results of their own hard-earned knowledge.

Reflective Writing
I was at first hesitant about reading Free to Choose. It was published in the late 70s and I could not anticipate how such an old book could be applicable to our current political situation. As I started flipping pages in the book, my mind was quickly changed. The material in the book proved to be a very eye-opening experience. I was able to acquire substantive knowledge throughout this book, particularly because it was so applicable to our current political situation. It addressed many details of our current economic. The authors provided detailed coverage of the meaning of a free economy, inflation, government regulation, employment, welfare, education, and many other topics that are pertinent to the current situation. The solutions provided were well studied and thought out. These were topics about which I previously had no knowledge. I now see things much differently than I did prior to attending this course. Furthermore, throughout this course, I had the opportunity of becoming more civilly engaged. I was able to correlate several of the principles from Free to Choose with the way the Common Core State Standards are being carried out. I attended city meetings surrounding the issue. I met with Brenda Hales from the Utah Office of Education, who is in favor of the standards. I also met with the leaders of Utahns Against the Common Core. I was able to quote several pieces of information from the book to express my ideas and understanding with these people. To summarize, I found Free to Choose to be a very well written and thought-provoking book. I have recommended it to my family and closest friends. I do not see how one could make intelligent political choices without the acquisition of such a knowledge. I wonder why those topics were not taught in K12. I think such an education would really benefit this country.