Andre LaRenzie, Chapter 4, Question #6

In chapter four of "Naked Economics", Charles Wheelan speaks of the government and what it does for the economy. He contrasts private and public sectors to discuss how the government affects the economy. He said that in Private sector, the market tells us where to put our resources. He used an example of a vendor at a baseball game that made a portable margarita maker. This increased social benefit, but was it necessary? No. The engineers who invented the margarita maker could of put their resources to better use with feeding starving children, or building roads in underprivileged countries. But that's not the case because the government is not telling them what to do, which ultimately makes me questions whether the government should direct resources or not to improve an economy. I found this passage significant because I have hopes of becoming a successful engineer one day, and I only hope that my job will include benefits to underprivileged people or places, and not making useless items such as an automatic margarita maker. It also opens my mind to the thought of government directing what I create as an engineer, as long as I am doing good for others.