The Drew Carey Project

For Thursday:
Traffic Gridlock:
1. What are the advantages of toll roads? What are the disadvantages? 
Advantage: It gets you to where you need to go, faster. Disadvantage: You have to pay money to use it.
2. Who pays the cost of toll roads? Who pays the cost of most roads? Toll Roads: The people who use them. Most roads: tax payers.
3. How are tolls/user fees different from taxes? You have to pay taxes. You only have to pay for tolls if you actually use that service.
4. Why are private companies willing to take on the risk of developing toll roads?
5. What does the fact that 40,000 cars use the 91 Toll Express Lanes in Orange County, CA every day
demonstrate about the value the drivers place on their time? That's it worth worth paying the money to save some time.
6. One person paid $548 for 168 trips. Do the math—how much is that per trip? Was it worth it to him?
How do we know?
7. Why does the price on the 91 Express Lanes fluctuate with the amount of traffic? Is this fair?

Living Large:
1. Does the video define middle class? What definition did your class agree on for this term? Does your
definition fit with the information provided in the video?
2. What were the occupations of the boaters at the lake? Are these jobs typically held by rich people or
middle-class people?
3. By interviewing “big boys with their expensive toys” is Drew Carey suggesting that all middle-class
people spend their money on fancy cars, boats, and jet-skis? What point is he making?
4. What are some different kinds of things that we associate with a comfortable middle-class lifestyle?
Make a list. (Examples: cable TV, family vacations, etc.)
5. Is the video trying to show that everyone in America is doing well? What misconception is the
program intended to correct?
6. How does the economist Michael Cox compare the cost of various goods and services over the past
several decades? Why doesn’t he use money as the basis of comparison?

Dance Ban:
1. Why might the decades-old law against outdoor dancing in Pinal County have been passed in the first
place? That's good flippin' question because it seems outrageous to me!
2. Why did Spencer Bell choose the restaurant business over some other kind of small business?
3. Do you think Pinal County’s anti-dancing ordinance is constitutional? I don't. I think dancing is a way to express yourself and if they are banning dancing, they are taking away a little piece of freedom. Which is unconstitutional.
4. The anti-dancing ordinance has been on the books for sixty years. Is the age of the ordinance
relevant? I don't believe so.
5. The neighbor in the video who originally opposed San Tan Flat suggested that someone might be
trying to use county regulations to bankrupt the restaurant. Why would anyone want to do that? Probably because they support dancing.

National City:
1. How are projects such as schools and roads fundamentally different from the condominium
development highlighted in this video?
2. What, according to some in the video, is eminent domain "abuse" as opposed to simply "eminent
domain"?
3. If eminent domain could not be used for private development projects, how would a developer acquire
the desired properties?
4. The mayor of National City suggests that the city government is getting a "bad rap" over this case.
What do you think he means?
5. What if most property owners are willing to sell but there are some holdouts? Is it fair for a few
owners to block a new development?