Respond to each classmate 100 words or more.

This is the question they had to answer. 

• What are some arguments against using the price system to allocate organs?
• Should foreigners have the right to buy U.S. organs and U.S. citizens have the right to buy foreign organs? Explain your answer in terms of economics.
  • What is wealth according to God’s word?
  • What should an individual do with the wealth and prosperity that God has provided?
  • What are the differences between a Christian perspective and a secular perspective on wealth creation and the use of wealth?

Classmate 1

What are some arguments against using the price system to allocate organs?

In my opinion, the price system prevents people from receiving organs who do not the appropriate funds. Instead, the person who is wealthier would receive the organs. The person that did not have the money for the organ may have needed organ more than the wealthier person.  This may cause this person’s health to deteriorate, because they are not able to receive the organ.

 Should foreigners have the right to buy U.S. organs and U.S. citizens have the right to buy foreign organs? Explain your answer in terms of economics.

I believe that organs should only be bought in the country where the person lives. When an organ is available, the person needs to be able to go to the center within 7 to 8 hours to receive the organ. If the organ is available in another country, the person may not be able to be there within this timeframe. There are even some countries where it is illegal to buy organs. Each country has their own set of rules you need to know before receiving the organ. So, you would need to be careful.

 What is wealth according to God’s word?

Wealth is known as money or valuable possessions. It is also known as the state of being rich and material prosperity. In the bible, God does not only define wealth as money or material prosperity. Many people believe that we must be extremely rich with money to have wealth. To be honest, some of the wealthiest people are the unhappiest and most miserable. These people believed that being able to afford anything they wanted would bring joy to their lives. They may feel as if themselves may it possible for them to be blessed. They do not take the time to thank God for their blessings. As Christians, we understand that nothing is possible without God. God wants us to know that he has supplied the wealth or prosperity we have. He blesses us and supplies us with everything we have in this life. People who are wealthy externally may have happiness internally if they acknowledge God for his blessings.

What should an individual do with the wealth and prosperity that God has provided?

There are many things that God wants us to do with our wealth and prosperity.  The most important is to bless others when we gain wealth. In 1 Timothy 5:8 it states, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” This scripture is advising us to bless others just as God has bless us. We should not want to keep all our wealth and prosperity to ourselves. As the scripture mentions, this is just as worse as an unbeliever. In other words, the unbeliever believes that he or she provided themselves with these blessings. These people do not believe that God can or did bless them. As believers, we know to bless others. Once we bless others, we will receive an overflow of blessings.

What are the differences between a Christian perspective and a secular perspective on wealth creation and the use of wealth?As Christians, we believe that God has bless us with wealth. The secular perspective is someone who believes man or themselves has made it possible for them to be wealthy. The Christian perspective is to give God all the praise and acknowledgement for the wealth because he is the one who gave us wealth. The secular perspective does not acknowledge anyone other than themselves.

Tucker, I. B. (2019). Economics for today (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.

Classmate 2

Economics for Today: Discussion 1.2

The National Transplant Organ Act of 1984 outlawed the sale of organs in the United States. The act thus prevents donors from getting the economic benefit or value from organ donations (Layton, 2019). Making the sale of organs illegal, however, does not make the organs valueless.

Since the National Transplant Organ Act of 1984 effectively puts the organ price at zero, it renders the supply relatively inelastic (Layton, 2019). For instance, at zero price, research indicates that donors in the United States supply approximately 8000 Kidneys per year and that approximately 100,000 people are on the waiting list to receive kidneys (Sterri, 2021). The demand for Organs is also relatively inelastic as prices do not largely influence it. As a result, there are way more patients in need of organs than there is demand. In the United States records

Plotting the aforementioned information on a curve yields the below.

The figure above illustrates that since supply is limited by the National Transplant Organ Act of 1984, the quantity supplied remains at 8000 quantities a year (The vertical line). Supply of donor organs is thus highly constrained as indicated by the supply curve S’.

The demand for Organs remains high, as indicated by the demand curve in Blue. However, regulated pricing at Zero makes it difficult for the market to meet the excess demand and hence most patients may die without receiving the organs. 

Comparing the United States Market with another country where selling of Organs is legal as represented by S (The red line) yields the following: At Zero price, people will still donate organs to families, friends, and well-wishers. We can put this figure at 8000 organs as it is in the United States. Introduction of a price margin, say $5000 or $10000 per organ, increases the quantity supplied to 10000 and 12000 units respectively. The price of organs in such a market will thus increase proportionally with the demand for the organs until it reaches equilibrium or the market-clearing price. The market-clearing price thus effectively becomes the “accepted” price for organs in the market. 

Several arguments are put forth against the use of the price system in organ allocation. First, the price system is likely to lead to adverse effects on the recipients. The price incentive may cause donors to withhold vital information about their health, thus jeopardizing both the recipient and themselves (Layton, 2019). Besides, the money reward may lead to premature termination of care for critically ill patients by people in an effort to obtain donor payments (Koplin, 2017). The other argument has been on the accessibility of transplants for the poor in society. It is argued that it is inhuman to allocate an essential item of life on the basis of one’s ability to pay. Selling organs to the highest bidder implies that only the rich may be able to receive transplants. 

According to God’s word, wealth is the ability for man to have adequate physical and spiritual possessions to live comfortably. Apparently, only God teaches and gives man the ability to create and accumulate wealth, as stated in Deuteronomy 8:18. The same wealth or abundance is for the benefit of self, family, and others, and hence one that fails to uplift others with their wealth is deemed worse than a nonbeliever (1 Timothy 5: 18). Individuals should thus use their God-given wealth to enhance the welfare of everyone in society. It is not enough to accumulate wealth for selfish gain. 

The Christian’s perspective on wealth creation is informed by the need to prosper oneself and others in society. Christians are called to love their neighbors as they love themselves, and hence their wealth creation journey should be devoid of evil schemes and lies to maximize gains. On the other hand, the secular perspective is such that most people are obsessed with profit and wealth maximization that they often overlook ethical and moral principles while pursuing their capitalistic goals

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References

Koplin, J. J. (2017, October). The body as gift, commodity, or something in between: ethical implications of advanced kidney donation. In The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy: A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine (Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 575-596). Oxford University Press.

Layton, A. L. L. A. N. (2019). Economics for today; 6th Asia-pacific edition. Melbourne: Cengage Learning Austrlia.

Sterri, A. B. (2021). Why States Should Buy Kidneys. Journal of Applied Philosophy.