Post #5 Illinibucks

The allocation of “Illinibucks” would be an interesting, but flawed, solution to the waiting problem that students face on a regular basis. Who wouldn’t want to skip the line during registration or at their favorite restaurant? Nevertheless, there are some issues that might make or break the system.

Before we get to the issues, let’s look at some of the more expected uses of the Illinibuck. The most obvious use would be class registration, but as I’ll get into shortly, this may lead to some of the more complex problems. The Illinibuck could find use with students who are waiting in line at a bar or at a restaurant. Also, during the cold or rainy seasons, the bus has so many riders that you couldn’t push your way on if you tried. Getting on first could be of value. The bookstore might have a line to skip, but even the books themselves could use Illinibucks since there’s not always enough books for everyone during the first couple of weeks. Even the gym doesn’t always have enough equipment for everyone, so I’m sure a priority system could be worked in there as well. There are bound to be plenty more uses of the Illinibuck than what I’ve listed here.

For the nonessentials such as these, the Illinibuck could find success (despite a great deal of frustration and questions of fairness). Students would be free to prioritize their spending and maximize their utility. The university would need to set the prices. Setting them too high would cause students to hesitate on spending. I predict that the Illinibucks would only be used on the essentials and be much less effective on simple bookstore lines. Setting prices too low would be a problem as well. Everyone would be willing to pay. Wanting to skip the line at the grocery store? Sure. Just wait behind the twenty other people who are skipping the line.

These low prices lead into the next and perhaps more serious issue with the Illinibuck: if everyone is trying to get ahead, who really gets ahead? Think about registration. When I was still in the computer science major, it took me until my third semester to get into a particular class. This class was required to take before most other computer science classes. There was a horrible shortage in openings as every student desperately tried to sign up.

If I had Illinibucks during that time, you could bet I’d spend every last one to get into that class, and I’d be happy to do it. First in line for food, the bus, the gym, and so on would be a small sacrifice to graduate in my (at the time) preferred major. If I were the only one with Illinibucks, it all would have worked out great. However, in this hypothetical situation, that’s not the case. So what happens when everyone is willing to make the same sacrifices? In this scenario, we all have the same amount of Illinibucks, and there certainly aren’t enough computer science classes for everyone who wants to take them. The only way this scenario doesn’t end in the same way it started (everyone fighting for priority) is if there’s a secondary priority system, which defeats the purpose, there’s an increase in the supply of openings to accommodate everyone, which defeats the purpose, or there’s an unequal distribution of Illinibucks. And under the possibility of Illinibucks being bought and sold, the entire system would be undermined and a list of new problems would develop.

The Illinibuck system would lead to some interesting situations that would be nice to study, but in reality, the drawbacks would most likely outweigh the benefits. Finding the right price for line-cutting would be essential for the system’s success, and that’s under the assumption that there even is a right price. If the Illinibuck system could work, would it do more harm or good? That’s a question I couldn’t answer.