January is a poignant time look to the future, and one area of continuing concern is the cost of health care in the United States. Not only are record numbers without insurance, but the astronomical costs of Medicare and Medicaid threaten the financial underpinnings of our society.…

In the study of economics, an externality is defined as a cost
or benefit, not transmitted through prices, incurred by a party
who did not agree to the action causing the cost or benefit.
A classic, obvious and relevant example of this in its negative
form is pollution.…