“The story of the carbon tax’s fading appeal, even among groups that like it in principle, shows the difficulties of crafting a politically palatable solution to one of the world’s most urgent problems — including greenhouse gas levels that are on track to reach a record high this year. ‘This aversion to taxes in the U.S. is high and should not be underestimated,’ said Kalee Kreider, a former Gore adviser and longtime climate activist. ‘I have a lot of scars to show for that’.”
“‘You do have this irony, and that is the policy that is overwhelmingly endorsed by economists of the right, the center, and the left as the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is inverse with what is politically feasible,’ said Barry Rabe, a University of Michigan professor who has studied carbon taxes.”…
Continue Reading“Private governance can be found in other examples in the oil and gas industry. Just think of the whole communities that exist on offshore oil and gas platforms. Why? Again as explained by Edward Stringham, ‘in many cases government officials do not have the knowledge, incentive or ability to enforce contracts or property rights in a low cost way’.”
Can the private sector assume functions now assumed if not monopolized by government? Such as building what is normally considered public infrastucture?
The answer is yes, as documented by examples and in theory. Regarding the latter, Edward Stringham explains:
… Continue ReadingGovernment is often dysfunctional and crowds out private sources of order, or it is simply absent or too costly to use. That means parties can either live with their problems or attempt to solve them.
“The United States fully intends to be the world’s preeminent leader in protecting the global environment. [E]nvironmental protection makes growth sustainable…. [This] recognition … by leaders from around the world is the central accomplishment of this important [United Nations] Rio Conference.”
– George H. W. Bush, “News Conference in Rio de Janeiro, June 13, 1992.
“Bush restored federal subsidies to the Carter-era renewable-energy and energy-efficiency programs that had been cut under Reagan. All-Things-to-All-People Bush also signed the Clean Air Act of 1990, which took the acid-rain scare at face value, a signal about his openness toward the global-warming issue to come.”
– Robert Bradley, Enron Ascending: The Forgotten Years (2018), p. 332.
In “This is when the GOP turned away from Climate Policy, E&E News recalled the good ol’ days when George H.…
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