Define: rent seeking. Explain, verbally and graphically, the economic case against minimum wages. Who benefits from minimum wage laws? How does rent seeking fit into this analysis?

Explain some of the full costs associated with wealth transfers suggested by public choice analysis.

Define: utility, marginal utility, marginal benefit, diminishing marginal utility.

Why consumers treat political and market goods differently.

Explain the relationship between total utility and marginal utility. What is the principle of diminishing marginal utility? Is it possible to have increasing marginal utility?

What is the slope of the total utility curve (upward or downward) in the range of negative marginal utility?

Which of the following most directly reflects the law of diminishing marginal utility?
a. After watching two football games, Terry decides to watch a third game.
b. A sports fan enjoys watching Monday night football rather than going to the theater.
c. After listening to three compact discs, Kim decides to go bowling rather than listen to a fourth disc.
d. A musician receives the biggest ovation of the evening after playing the final number of a recital.

Talk about moral hazard:

When a financial institution holds a mortgage, homeowners must live with the fear of foreclosure. Private institutions only have obligations to shareholders. In the case of a defaulting borrower, they will look to recover as much of their principal as possible. If foreclosure is their best option, they will take it in a heartbeat.

The government has no such obligations. Its only goal is to keep voters happy. After supposedly bailing out the fat cats on Wall Street, no politician wants to be accused of evicting struggling families. Once you understand this, all of your anxiety should melt away. Why pay your mortgage if foreclosure is off the table, and if you know that lower payments, and possibly a reduced loan amount, would result? A tarnished a credit rating is a small price to pay for such a benefit.

Unfortunately, this boon will not extend to those foolish individuals who either made large down payments or resisted the temptation of cashing out equity. The large amount of home equity built up by these suckers, I mean homeowners, means that in the case of default foreclosure remains a financially attractive option. As a result, these loans will be much less likely to be turned over to the government.

If your mortgage does become the property of Uncle Sam, the growingly popular impulse to “just walk away” should be replaced by “just stay and stop paying.” No one will throw you out. After a few months, or years, of living payment free, you will get a call from a motivated government agent eager to adjust your loan into something affordable.

That is investment adviser Peter Schiff, writing in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Read the whole article.