Before completing this graded discussion. You should have a full understanding of the concepts below, if you don’t please use the textbook and review them first.

• Opportunity Cost, Scarcity, Market Failures, Government Regulation, Taxes, Tax Revenues, Public Goods, Government Spending.   

Instructions and Steps:

1. View the following TED Talk (video presentation). As you watch the video, take notes of any relevant information.

2. Answer the following question;

• As you are aware from reading chapters 4 & 10, Governments intervene in markets to solve market failures like pollution, and to provide for public goods, but to achieve this, they need funding, which they accomplish by collecting taxes. Jean-Baptiste Colbert a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683, once famously said: “The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest [number] of feathers with the least possible amount of hissing.” Implying that taxes should be as high as people are willing to pay without complaining too much. Based on what you read in chapter 10, and the information from this TED Talk, should governments focus more on becoming more efficient with the use of tax revenues hence reducing the cost of delivering for their citizens, or should they focus more on trying to increase tax revenues? Explain why. 
   

3. Produce a post of at least 300 words in which you explain your position. Your post must contain at least the following elements:

• It must state your stance to the question posted
• It must state the reason why
  • Your reason must be explicitly connected to one of the concepts listed above, which means that must use at least of the concepts in your explanation 
• It must use information, or data from the TED Talk to support your argument. 

Your grade will be based on how clear, precise, accurate, relevant and logical your post is and if it was turned in on time. Things such as the name of the video, the name of the presenter, your name, the questions, citation, and date do not count towards the word count.