[extropy-chat] Extinctions

[Martin Striz]

On 6/13/06, Rafal Smigrodzki <rafal.smigrodzki at gmail.com> wrote:

> ### After harm from pollution is proven, and given class action suits,
> the tort law can be used to form a feedback loop between polluters and
> their victims.

When you factor in the costs of healthcare, regulations aren't that
inefficient, especially in a country like the United States which
spends more on healthcare as a percentage of its GDP than any country
in the world.  I'd rather be Proactionary about it.

> I've seen regulation at work, and it's not pretty. Hundreds of
> billions of dollars dumped into the Superfund boondoggle (I hope you
> know about it), the estimated 20 000 000 000 dollars spent per life
> saved by the EPA on chloroform controls, a panopticum of grotesque
> inefficiency. The biggest harm is the one you don't see: the
> businesses never founded, the money unearned because of the constant
> stream of destructive regulation put out by bureaucrats.

Economies are complex and there are always a hundred examples for one
position, and a hundred for the opposite.  We've also achieved
measurable reductions in pollution, creating cleaner air, water and
soil (published studies have confirmed this), safer working
conditions, and a higher quality of life for the lowest classes, all
while maintaining one of the most robust economies in the world.  So,
all things considered, I think it was worth it.

Martin