[extropy-chat] Extinctions

Damien Sullivan phoenix at ugcs.caltech.edu
Mon Jun 12 02:38:26 UTC 2006


On Mon, Jun 12, 2006 at 02:14:10AM +0200, Anders Sandberg wrote:
> 
> Damien Sullivan wrote:
> > Governments don't need money for incentives; they can apply taxes.  If
> > oil burners had to pay for the cost of removing or sequestering their
> > CO2 then alternatives would probably look a lot more attractive.
> > Governments can create markets.
> 
> But what are their incentives for that? Unfortunately, the reward system
> even in well functioning democracies are somewhat perverse, rewarding
> grand gestures appearing to do something, the formation of dependent voter
> groups and all the other problems of public choice economics. What are the
> incentives for governments to set a correct carbon tax, when they can use
> the tax for so many other useful things than just pay for sequestration?

Absent any government intervention, what's the incentive for many
polluters, without specific obvious victims under tort law, to not
pollute?  Oh wait, there isn't any.  That's even more perverse than
democratic feedback.

If taxes don't work, regulation will.  I've seen it.  Breathed it.
Perfect?  No, but neither is the alternative.

-xx- Damien X-) 



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