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LESSON: MY NEW YORK
Lesson Summary
Identify
public goods and services as you take a tour of the sites and sounds of
New York City – from the towering Empire State Building to Central Park
and the Sixth Avenue Flea Market. The artwork by author Kathy
Jakobsen is especially striking, with color foldout pages of key
sites.
Concept: Goods and Services (focus on
public goods and services)
Definition: A good is an object people want
that they can touch or hold. A service is an action that a
person does for someone else.
A public good or
service is provided by
government using taxes collected from citizens. An example of
a public service provided by the federal government is national
defense. Public services often provided by local and state
governments are roads, police and fire protection, and
education. Certain services, such as water, can be provided by
government or by private companies.
Comprehension Questions:
What is
the difference between a good and a service? Both are things people
want; however, a good is something you can touch. A service is
something someone does for you.
What is
a public good or service? A good or service provided by
government using taxes collected from citizens
What
are taxes? Taxes are payments to government by individuals or
businesses. Taxes are typically paid on income (e.g. income tax),
consumption (e.g. sales tax), and wealth (e.g. inheritance
tax).
What
are some examples of goods and services in the story that could be
provided by government. (Note: services such as power, buses,
parks, and water are sometimes provided by private companies.)
- First
page view of apartment building: roads/sidewalks, buses
- Sixth
Avenue Flea Market: roads/sidewalks, buses, lights
- Underground
New York: roads/sidewalks, subway, water mains (if city water),
sewage system
- Empire
State Building: roads/sidewalks
- Foldout
view of New York: bridges, Central Park
- Central
Park Zoo: the zoo (if supported by some public tax dollars)
- Carousel: carousel
if operated by Central Park, trash can/removal (probably part of park
costs)
- Plaza
Hotel: roads/sidewalks, city lights, park, police (on horseback and
in police car!)
- Marathon: roads/sidewalks,
bridge, police
- Chinatown: roads/sidewalks
- Baby
Watson Cheesecake: roads/sidewalks
- Hudson
River: aircraft carrier, fighter jets, submarine
- South
Seaport: bridge
- View
from Staten Island Ferry: roads, Ellis Island monument, Statue of
Liberty monument
- Fireworks: Statue
of Liberty monument, fireworks (a government sponsored event!), roads,
Ellis Island monument
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