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From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Newsflash! [JoSH on Socialis
Message-ID: <922@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 21-Dec-85 17:09:23 EST
Article-I.D.: mmintl.922
Posted: Sat Dec 21 17:09:23 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 24-Dec-85 20:49:26 EST
References: <266@meccts.UUCP> <4340005@csd2.UUCP> <879@mmintl.UUCP> <4@calgary.UUCP>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT
Lines: 35

In article <4@calgary.UUCP> radford@calgary.UUCP (Radford Neal) writes:
>> [ POSTINGS ON PROBLEM OF POLLUTION ]
>
>I'm not sure if I'm in favour of the following, but it does show that
>regulation of pollution need not vastly increase government power. It 
>bears some similarity to your above proposal:
>
>   Have the government monitor the levels of pollution emitted by
>   industry and (roughly) the geographic area affected. They require
>   that industry buy a "license" to emit that much in that area.
>   Licenses are auctioned to the highest bidder. The total number of
>   licenses to, say, emit one tonne of nitrous oxide in Kentucky, is
>   set by popular vote of the people of Kentucky.
>
>   Now a critical point: The money from sale of these licenses is not
>   kept by the government but distributed equally amongst the affected
>   people. This prevents the income from increasing the size of the
>   government, compensates the victims, and provides feedback on the
>   appropriate number of licenses.
>
>This restricts the impact of pollution laws on government size to something
>comparable to the requirements for enforcing other laws.

I'm afraid this proposal is hopelessly naive.  First of all, you can't
solve the problem at the state level -- pollution doesn't respect state
boundaries.

Neither who produces a pollutant, what the effects are, nor who is affected
to what extent are easy to measure.  You seem to think that because you say
the money raised is to be used to compensate victims, it will be.  Actually,
most of it will be eaten up by administrative expenses -- i.e., increasing
the size of the government.

Frank Adams                           ihpn4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Multimate International    52 Oakland Ave North    E. Hartford, CT 06108