Creating a market system
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/15/891488686/summer-school-2-markets-pickles
Listen this 31 minutes podcast and answer the questions. No need to use formal words.
1. Explain how the food banks improved efficiency by creating a market system to allocate food.
2. Each food bank was given “money” (shares) based on need and number of clients served. How does that differ from how a real market works, and what effect does that have on distribution/allocation? Which method do you think is better?
3. One main topic of the podcast is whether market forces are the best way to allocate scarce resources. A major debate going on these days is how much market forces should be used in allocating resources in education (for example should all schools be private) and health care (other wealthy nations have national health care, not the largely private system we use the US). Choose one of these areas (education or health care) and briefly explain why you think markets should or should not be used.
3 For education specifically, I think markets should not be used in resource allocation since students come from varying backgrounds and circumstances that inherently put some at a disadvantage monetarily compared to others which would create unequal opportunities for success if private schools were implemented across the board instead of public ones like we currently have in place today. Similarly with health care, leaning too heavily into market forces could result similar issues where those who cannot afford coverage are at an inherent risk versus individuals who can pay for insurance plans out-of-pocket or through employer provided benefits; thus overall I believe it's best for public resources such as education and healthcare services remain largely publicly funded so that equal opportunities do exist between individuals no matter their financial circumstance or background enabling broad accessibly when necessary without discrimination based on income level/status etc.