The Alpentalics Economics Page

Economics
Public Goods
Externalities                  Paid to Pollute
33% of lifts open daily 
Monopolistic Pricing          

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A public good exhibits two basic characteristics: 

  1. "Nonrivalous in its consumption."

  2. "Inability to exclude individuals      from consumption."

(D.L.Kaserman/J.W.Mayo, Government and Business the Economics of Antitrust and Regulation, Dryden Press, 1995) 

"Goods with benefits that cannot be withheld from those who do not pay are shared by large groups of consumers are public goods.  Public goods are non-rival in consumption, meaning that a given quantity of a public good can be enjoyed by more than one consumer without decreasing the amounts enjoyed by rival consumers."  The infeasibility of pricing units of public goods is the characteristic called "nonexclusive" or "non-exclusion."  Non-exclusion "implies that it is too costly to develop a means of excluding those who refuse to pay from enjoying the benefits of the given quantity of a public good."  (David N. Hyman, Public Finance, Harcourt 2002)

"To monitor their individual  use is normally impossible or prohibitively expensive; therefore, it is not feasible to charge for that use." (Douglas C. North and Roger LeRoy Miller, University of Washington, The Economics of Public Issues, Harper and Row 1973)

Externalities

Booth Creek's attempt to regulate the scarcity of our public good, the free parking and camping lots at Alpental, is an example of a market externality.  "Externalities exist when one person's consumption or production decisions impose economic costs (negative externalities) or benefits (positive externalities) on other parties..."  (D.L.Kaserman/J.W.Mayo, Government and Business the Economics of Antitrust and Regulation, Dryden Press, 1995) 

Paid to Pollute?

The Alpental Security Squad (ASS) has attempted to shake down public users to pay for access to public free parking and camping lots at Alpental (free for over 70 years).  I'll bet your thinking what I am thinking:  Why don't I get to charge the public to use their  public free access property?  Well ah, umm?  So the ASS is trying to charge fees so the corporation can buy "Green Tickets" or "Green Chips" which apparently are a tradable pollution right.  Hence Booth Creek are charging the public to use the public's lands to allow the ski area to pollute more than they could normally.

The results of the first Alpentalics study of the percent of total lifts open on any given day during the 2005/6 operating season was 33 percent open.  Meaning that, on average, the four resorts have a mere 33 percent of the total skiable terrain acres open on any given day of operation, during the 2005/6 season.  This implies that by opening the remaining 67 percent of the lifts available daily, Booth Creek could increase their "Comfortable Carrying Capacity" by 67 percent.  No capital investment needed!  Now that is any CEOs dream.  

Monopolistic Pricing

Monopolistic pricing occurs when a company artificially reduces the supply of a good (given they have enough control over the supply of the good at the market place to effect total supply) in order to raise the price of the good to the consumer.  In essence by regulating the scarcity the price of any good can be changed.   Booth Creek has been granted exclusive right to operate lifts on the total supply of skiable terrain acres at Snoqualmie Pass.  

Take the Survey                         Should Booth Creek be able to regulate the public's right to access the skiable terrain acres situated on public land, by reducing the amount of open lifts?  

Survey Results:  When Complete.

Booth Creek charging the public for access to a public good is as ridiculous as the campers charging Booth Creek to access the public good.  The idea of charging for access to a public good by the public violates the basic principles of what makes a public good a public good.