Ron believes that the government should be operated by private enterprise (like Chuck E. Cheese) that uses a token system to participate, like taking a walk, going down a slide, or seeing a duck. This would take a previously nonexclusive good and turn it into one that must be purchased to be consumed.
See more: capitalism, common resources, exclusivity, private goods, profit maximization, public goods, types of goods
Ann announces that she is not a fan of group dinners where everyone splits the check. This is most likely because she believes she’ll spend under the average bill and would have to pay more than her share if split equally. While it’s more efficient to split the bill, it often leads to some inequities in the final amount each person pays.
See more: behavioral, efficiency, equity, incentives, private incentives, social incentives, tradeoffs
Ron describes his promotion to manager of a sheet metal factory at the age of 9, but regrets that child labor laws are now ruining this country. Child labor laws a good example of decreasing in supply of labor for the early 1900s and a service as a good discussion on the role of government.
See more: child labor, efficiency, equity, externalities, labor, minimum wage, regulation, safety regulations, social costs, supply shifts, sweatshops
Leslie tries to turn a local pit into a community garden and allow citizens to plant whatever they chose in the garden. One citizen has taken advantage of the situation and decided to plant marijuana in the garden instead of vegetables or flowers.
See more: common resources, free rider problem, incentives, public goods, social costs, types of goods
The government often provides services for public goods and common goods when the private market isn’t ready to accept that responsibility. Because Ron is a big believe in free markets, he isn’t happy that federal money is being spent on providing common resources for the community. He believes that the best kind of park would be one ran by Chuck E. Cheese.
See more: common resources, excludability, federal budget, free rider problem, government, government programs, government spending, rivalry, role of government, types of goods
Ron believes that governments are a waste of taxpayer money and should be run more like private (for-profit) companies. Later he suggests that parks could operate on a token system so that anyone wanting to use the park would need to pay for their use.
See more: common resources, exclusivity, government, private goods, profit maximization, public goods, rivalry, role of government, types of goods
Ron believes in a very limited government and describes his idea of government as a single employee with the power to start war. This clip can be used to show the extremes of the what role a government should have.
See more: government, national defense, public goods
Ann and Leslie are trying to convince local residents that a park would be a good alternative to a giant pit located near their homes. The two of them go door-to-door framing their questions to garner public support, but one local resident doesn’t want a park built near her house because of all the potential negative externalities associated with them.
See more: externalities, framing, negative externalities, public goods, rent seeking, social costs
Ron and Leslie meet for lunch to settle a bet, but not before Ron extolls the virtues of capitalism and competition in the free market. Leslie, of course, disagrees on the role of government because she recognizes that not all services can be provided private enterprise.
See more: capitalism, competition, externalities, free market, government, public economics, public goods, role of government
Chris isn’t feeling so well, so Ann tries to cheer him up with shrimp. Diminishing utility kicks in as Chris realizes the second shrimp isn’t as tasty as the first.
Credit: Caitlin Lee (@_caitlinnlee)
See more: diminishing returns, utility
Economics of Parks & Recreation 