

Intro Question List three ways that government actions affect
your economic freedoms. Are they positive or
negative? Explain your answers.
Ch. 3 section 1

Share your answers with a partner.

Share their results with the class.

Open Land.

Lots of natural resources.

Large and talented labor supply.

BUT! There is one main reason..


Pair/Share
What is the perfect level of government
involvement?

Public Disclosure Laws



Companies have to give important information to
consumers so that consumers can make the best
well-informed decisions.
Examples?
Public Safety


Gov’t regulations on health standards, labels,
ingredients, etc.
Examples?









Food and Drug Administration
Federal Reserve System
Federal Trade Commission
Federal Communications Commission
National Labor Relations Board
Environmental Protection Agency
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Etc.
Why does the government place some limits on the
economic freedom of businesses?



The government steps in in order to protect
public safety, fair competition, and equality.
Example - How does the FCC promote public
interest?
How might government regulation have some
negative consequences?

SOPA, PROTECT IP Act


Cybersecurity Bill


Meant to curb unauthorized sharing and streaming of
copyrighted content.
The DOJ argued that new legal powers were needed in
order to combat the problem of foreign “rogue sites,”
which profited from the facilitation of copyrighted
material.
What are some positive/negative aspects of these
bills?

What is the government trying to accomplish?

Complaints against them – Civil Liberties


It threatens free speech in America, because the law
is broad enough to allow shutting down an entire
site over one offending link, posted not by the site's
operator but by a user. Damaging User-Generated
Sites.
Protests – January 18, 2012
 Wikipedia Blackout
 Senator Reid postponed votes on this bill.

Senators worry that without some type of
regulation, overseas criminals will be able to
freely steal American intellectual property.

I will give you a poll question regarding the:




Government’s censorship of “art”
Please read it on your own and do not discuss
it with anyone around you.
I’d like to not have your opinion sway the
responses of others.
Once you’ve made a choice, please turn over
your paper.


Is government censorship of art something that
is necessary?
HW Read pp. 62-66 Chapter 3 Section 3