1. The purpose of antitrust policy is to promote _______, which leads to lower ________. Explain why this is so? How would you counter the argument that combining operations would lead to greater efficiency and therefore lower prices? What do you think about Friedman's statements about "antitrust" solutions in the first video?

2. Mergers are very common and sometimes the government allows them and sometimes it does not. Not too long ago, government nixed the merger of Staples and Office Depot, for instance. Continental and United Airlines merged a few of years ago.This had an impact on a friend of mine who owned stock in Continental and lived in Houston, which was the headquarters for Continental.This merger impacted him and the city in which he lived.Oh yes, and everyone that travels too. Southwest Airlines has merged with Air Tran, Delta and Northwest Airlines merged, and American Airlines merged with US Airways. Did the government review these mergers to see if there are potential issues before allowing them?If so, under what acts did that review occur?What are some of the potential problems with allowing two large airlines to merge thus becoming the largest airline in the US in the case of American and US Airways, and the largest discount airline in the case of Southwest and Air Tran?In what market type do airlines operate? 3. Imperfect information is pretty common. Many people who got caught up in variable interest mortgages claimed not to know the interest rates would go up after a few years. Many people have been defrauded in Ponzi schemes. Not too long ago a poor elderly lady was discovered to still be paying $3.00 a month to rent her phone from AT&T, something that was done way back in the 70s and before, when you could not own your own telephone. One recent scam that has surfaced are people calling to help unknowing suspects to sign up for Obama Care and getting payments, which is stolen money. Another is people calling and claiming the person missed jury duty and demanding money to pay off a fine. Do you know anyone that has been defrauded or suffered simply because they did not know what they were doing? Discuss.

4. All states, of which I am aware except maybe New Hampshire, require automobile owners to insure their vehicle (a few allow people to self-insure). Yet, studies show that having insurance actually increases the likelihood of an accident and increases the likelihood of a car / bicycle accident. Discuss why this is so. Who is protected and who is harmed by required automobile insurance?