Rachel Zellie, Chapter 3, Question #6

I thought the passage towards the end of the chapter regarding taxing people in order to save them from themselves was a very significant part of chapter 3. This topic cannot be answered through just economic thought. Wheelan brings up the fact that the answer to whether the government is allowed to do this is purely  philosophical. Wheelan also highlights the fact that economics brackets each side of the specturm of this debate. Personally when we began talking about externalities I began to wonder where the government draws the line in getting involved with them. I also wondered if at any point while trying to tax and regulate externalities any of our rights as Americans are compromised. An example of this is taxing pop. Yes America has an obesity and dibetes problem that is highly prevalent, but when does the government begin to make the decision for Americans regarding pop consumption-through taxing pop. This is a really interesting and controversial topic that I believe would take longer than one blog post to dissect and analyze, but I found this very thought provoking.