Well, it's arguable whether public education is a public good. Wikipedia says:
Law enforcement, streets, libraries, museums, and education are commonly misclassified as public goods, but they are technically classified in economic terms as quasi-public goods because excludability is possible, but they do still fit some of the characteristics of public goods.
Since ERs can't turn away indigent patients, health care also has some degree of non-excludability, in practice. Perhaps the question of whether or not it's a public good lies at the heart of the health care debate. Here's the argument in favor: http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2009/08/is-health-care-a-public-...
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Well, it's arguable whether public education is a public good. Wikipedia says:
Law enforcement, streets, libraries, museums, and education are commonly misclassified as public goods, but they are technically classified in economic terms as quasi-public goods because excludability is possible, but they do still fit some of the characteristics of public goods.
Since ERs can't turn away indigent patients, health care also has some degree of non-excludability, in practice. Perhaps the question of whether or not it's a public good lies at the heart of the health care debate. Here's the argument in favor: http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2009/08/is-health-care-a-public-...