Final answer:
The government provides public goods like tornado sirens, street lights, and lighthouses due to their essential role in public safety and navigation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks why the government provides certain public goods, such as tornado sirens, street lights, and lighthouses, but typically does not run radio stations, with exceptions like PBS. Public goods are defined as services or products that are nonrivalrous and nonexclusionary.
It refers to Meaning that one person’s use of the good does not diminish another’s ability to use it, and no one can be effectively excluded from using the good. The government provides tornado sirens, street lights, and lighthouses because these services fulfill critical safety and navigational roles that serve the entire public and it is vital that they are maintained.
On the contrary, while radio stations are nonrivalrous and nonexclusionary, the market has the ability to support multiple private entities that can operate radio stations, allowing for consumer choice and competition, which can increase variety and innovation in content.