Anna Anderson, Chapter 3, Question #1

The issue of externalities that Wheelan addressed effects all of us a lot. Like he said in his example of his purchase of a new car, he factored in the gas and insurance, but didn't factor in things that don't directly effect him, like the rise in danger for other people driving or the impact on the environment. I think that in our society, we often think of things in the short term, at least I do, and don't consider the harm or good we're doing to others with our choices. I thought the example from The Economist was especially interesting, because kids are annoying on planes, but it would be weird to have a special place for them on planes. It just struck me how little we think of how far-reaching our actions go.