At 04:49 PM 5/5/01 +0200 J. van Baardwijk wrote:
>Ah, so *that* is the problem: the people want environmental measures, but
>they don't want to pay the price for it.
Yeah, the American people want a free lunch - imagine that! ;-)
>>IIRC, the US would be allowed virtually zero increase
>>now, because the increase that was allowed has all been used up.
>
>Yes, so what? I remember from my Business Economics classes in Business
>School that one of the pillars of capitalism is permanent and unlimited
>economic growth. History has already proven that you *cannot* have that.
Didn't they include "property rights" and "enforceable contracts" in those
pillars anywhere?
More to the point, though, the "business cycle" has been known for a very
long time. And since economists know that the business cycle is very,
very, real - I can't imagine anyone seriously arguing "permanent and
unlimited growth". Well, I can't imagine anyone who isn't investing in a
stockmarket bubble at the time saying that.... ;-)
>Doesn't sound like such a bad thing to me. Actually, I'd say this is an
>incentive to ratify Kyoto: once the overall wealth in the Third World
>increases, it will become a huge new market for everything we Westerners
>take for granted. Imagine how much money can be made once everyone in the
>Third World can afford anything from big-screen televisions to fast cars to
>high quality health care to state-of-the-art computers to first-class
>airline tickets to foreign foods to cell phones to ...
>
>Of course, this would require the capitalists to start thinking long-term...
Actually, it would require Developing World leaders to start thining
long-term. The problem with wealth transfers to the Developing World,
Jeroen, is that the wealth never seems to end up in the hands of those who
need it. Instead, it always seems to end up in a new Presidential Palace,
and new military/security squadron, and a new fleet of limosuines for the
senior civil service. If leaders of the developing world just thought
about how rich they could get if their whole country was getting rich too
(and how nice a fawning chapter in the history books would be) - then maybe
we would get someplace.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"The point of living in a Republic after all, is that we do not live by
majority rule. We live by laws and a variety of institutions designed
to check each other." -Andrew Sullivan 01/29/01
