Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Externalities seem to be very complicated to solve and pinpoint when making a decision for you/your family. It appears that almost everything that you do has the ability to make someone worse off than they were before. We always talk about how driving cars that get horrible gas mileage put more strain on our resources and harm our environment. I'm quite sure by now that everyone knows that. But we still buy big SUVs. My mom has, for as long as I can remember, had a big car. We've had a minivan, a Ford Expedition (even bigger than Wheelan's Explorer) and currently a Buick Enclave that seats seven. Now, we had our reasons for purchasing a big car. There is five of us in our family, we take at least one major (twenty-five hour) road trip a year with around five smaller ones as well. We take our two dogs on this trip and are gone for two - three weeks, creating a substantial amount of luggage as any family with four girls would. My dad argued against this recent purchase because he believed that the costs (gas, insurance, etc.) that would go along with this bigger car were not worth the benefit for the three weeks every year where this car would truly be an asset. He is probably right, because in the long run my mom makes more stops at the gas station and is worse for the environment. It is affecting more than just my sisters and I being unable to sit in too close proximity for twenty five hours but we bought the car anyway. I was hesitant to Charles Wheelan's proposal on raising the gas tax or the tax on cars because how can you really tell what is the correct amount to add? I think that this is something, however, that could possibly be further expanded and researched in years to come and something that would prove to be extremely beneficial to our world, at the right and fair price.