1. The American Society of Civil Engineers says more than 550 of New Jersey's bridges need major repairs. With the state's roads and bridges falling apart, and with its transportation trust fund running dry, New Jersey lawmakers are considering raising the gas tax from 14.5 cents per gallon, the second-lowest in the country, to 37.5 cents a gallon, bringing it closer to that of New York and other neighboring states. Source: The New York Times, June 23, 2016, Why might an increase in the gas tax to finance transportation infrastructure be a political equilibrium?

An increase in the gas tax to finance transportation infrastructure might be a political equilibrium if _______.

A. voters, firms, politicians, and bureaucrats agree with the policy and no group offers another policy that all groups support

B.the gas tax raises sufficient funds to repair all the designated roads and bridges

C. all gas taxes collected are used to repair roads and bridges and no taxes are illegally misappropriated by bureaucrats

D. other states also raise their gas taxes so that the gas taxes in all states are approximately equal

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. A Bridge Too Far Gone: The gas taxes paid for much of America's post-war freeway system. Now motorists pay about one-third in gas taxes to drive a mile as they did in the 1960s. Yet raising such taxes is politically tricky. This would matter less if private cash was flooding into infrastructure, or if new ways were being found to control demand. Neither is happening, and private companies building toll roads brings howls of outrage. Source: The Economist, August 9, 2007 Why is it politically tricky" to raise gas taxes to finance infrastructure? Question content area bottom

Raising gas taxes to finance infrastructure is "politically tricky" because _______.

A. the demand for gasoline is highly elastic and a rise in the gas tax paid primarily by consumers can jeopardize the re-election of politicians

B.the demand for gasoline is highly inelastic and a rise in the gas tax paid primarily by consumers can jeopardize the re-election of politicians

C. the demand for gasoline is highly inelastic and a rise in the gas tax substantially decreases the quantity of gas bought so other taxes will have to rise at the same time to help finance infrastructure

D. a rise in the gas tax makes the supply of gasoline more elastic so most of the rise in the gas tax is paid primarily by consumers, which jeopardizes the re-election of politicians

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Trump Confronts NATO's Free Riders NATO is a 28-nation defense alliance that regards an attack on one member as an attack on every member. To provide the agreed level of mutual support, NATO members commit to spending at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense. But only the U.S., Britain, Poland, Estonia, and Greece beat 2 percent. France, Germany, and Canada fall short. Source: The Chicago Tribune, February 16, 2017 Explain the free-rider problem described in this news clip. Does the free-rider problem in international defense mean that the world has too little defense against aggression? How do nations try to overcome the free-rider problem among nations? Question content area bottom left

The free-rider problem described in this news clip is that _______.

A. if a NATO member nation is attacked, all members are required to defend the attacked nation

B. the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, Estonia, and Greece are paying more than 2 percent of their gross domestic product to NATO

C. 23 out of 28 NATO nations who are not paying their allocated share of defense expenses are receiving NATO protection

D. NATO needs more member nations to confidently defend against terrorism

Give explanation