1. View the following TED Talk (video presentation). As you watch the video, take notes of any relevant information.

• What we learned from teetering on the Fiscal Cliff

2. Answer the following question;

As you are aware from reading chapters 4 & 10, Governments intervene in markets to solve market failures like pollution, and to provide for public goods, but to achieve this, they need funding, which they accomplish by collecting taxes. Jean-Baptiste Colbert a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683, once famously said "The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest [number] of feathers with the least possible amount of hissing." Implying that taxes should be as high as people are willing to pay without complaining too much. Based on what you read in chapter 10, and the information on this TED talk, should governments focus more on becoming more efficient with the use of tax revenues hence reducing the cost of delivering for their citizens ? Explain Why. Which are the consequences of keep raising our debt ? Explain why.