Use the directions to help me Follow direction on the sheet. Use common sense and the story in the text to help figure out. follow directions on the sheet. all information is provided within the worksheet

1 12 > 11160 /4 1 : Why abl # 1 Economics Resource Center Name Hour Score The Price for a Life Subject Opportunity Cost Topic Scarcity, Choice, Opportunity Cost Key Words Government, Awards, Income, Earning Potential, Wages, Damages, Benefits New Story Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer appointed to oversee the government fund for victims of the September 11 attacks, has said that he is leaning towards giving relatively equal awards to families. This has annoyed some lawyers representing families of victims. The law setting up the fund states that each award must be partly based on the victim's income and earning potential. That could lead to large variations n awards between bond traders who earned millions, and janitors who earned low wages. However, the portion designed to compensate for pain and suffering and loss of companionship could be used to equalize the distribution of payments. The amount of each award is not capped. Families are not able to seek a payment unless they agree not to sue anyone for damages. It is unclear which family members will be able to claim benefits, and whether same-sex partners could benefit. Another issue is whether payments by the Red Cross will count against the payment for the government fund. Questions 1. What is the opportunity cost of a person dying in the World Trade Center? Distinguish between the monetary and non-monetary costs. 2. According to the law establishing the government's fund, how would the awards be related to these costs? 3. How might the "income and earning potential" of a victim be calculated? 4. From an economic point of view, would it be fair to equalize the awards for all families? Explain. 5. From an economic point of view, would it be fair to give awards to same-sex partners? Explain. Source Associated Press, "Awards should be equal, head says, " St. Petersburg Time Dec 8 2001 Breakfast on the Run Subject Scarcity, Choice, and Opportunity Cost 111% +| I Why abl # 1 5. From an economic point of view, would it be fair to give awards to same-sex partners? Explain. Source Associated Press, "Awards should be equal, head says, " St. Petersburg Time Dec 8 2001 Breakfast on the Run Subject Scarcity, Choice, and Opportunity Cost Topic Opportunity Cos Key Words Family Time, work time, work, commutes New Story A growing number of working professionals are eating breakfast at the office, rather than at home. Others are eating during their commute. Reflecting these trends, a research firm, NPD Group, has found that over the past few years, the number of breakfasts brought from home has doubled. Meantime, the number of people buying their breakfast from fast-food restaurants has doubled in the past 20 years. Some employers have opened their cafeterias early in the morning so that employees can eat breakfast at work. The reasons for the replacement of family time with work time include the fast that employees are working longer each week. Employees reporting they work 49 hours a week or more has more than doubled in 20 years. As a result, work encroaches on to meal times. Second, breakfast time offers a quiet time in an otherwise hectic day for many workers to catch up on emails and communicating with other employees. Third, commutes are growing larger, reducing time people have for breakfast. More than a tenth of morning commuters leave between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Questions 1. What is scarce in this news story? 2. What choice has to be made as a result of this scarce resource? 3. What is the definition of opportunity cost? 4. What is the opportunity cost of eating breakfast at home? 5. What is the opportunity cost of eating breakfast at work? 6. What is the opportunity cost of eating breakfast on the way to work? Source Stephanie Armour, "Breakfast eats time, so workers gobble at the office," USA Today June 22