--- In [email protected], Bhairitu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > shempmcgurk wrote: > > But, Barfitu, you and the Global Warming crowd are AGAINST wanton > > gasoline consumption. The higher the price of gas, the lower the > > consumption and the less emission of the evil carbon into the > > atmosphere. > > > > You should be cheering Bush. > The higher the price of gas the more other things like bread, plastics, > milk, cheese, veggies, lentils, rice and on and on cost. It sets off an > inflationary spiral. It also effects the price of services. Your > dentist and doctor charges more. The movie theater you go to want Juno > (over and over) starts charging more. And of course you charge your > clients more. Up and up it goes and when it stops nobody knows? Then > it all comes tumbling down like a wall of bricks.
Yes. This is what happens as things are priced more appropriately (even if the price change is for wrong / structural reasons). Then everything that has an energy component changes in price sending out a far more efficient price signal -- allowing people to change behavior to accomodate real costs and prices. If the price of gas doubles (even for artificial reasons), it better reflects the true societal cost of gas. Things that use gas become more expensive and less attractctive. Things that use less gas become cheaper, in relative terms, and consumers buy of it. More bicycles, less SUVs. More fitness, less pollution and GHG. Whats not to love with this "silent" administration. Yea, whats not to love are all the other incorrectly priced things -- that do not reflect full social cost -- often because of deficient, inefficient, incomplete, or dumb regulations. The market does not create good price signals when there are significant non-montetized externalities like pollution. Thus, as I think you agree, purely free markets suck. But efficient market and consumer response to correct prices, through regulation WHEN (and only when) needed, is the very positive, though incomplete part of market exonomies. Though Nab wants to ban this incredibly powerful silent administration for some sort of fiat economy. Been there, done that. A room full of of often corrupt bureaucrats setting prices across the board will always be far inferior in terms of level and equity of economic output. So gas prices above $4 is GREAT NEWS. it should be $10. And instead of filling ME and oil co coffers, a $10 price should be driven by a income-neutral energy / carbon tax. $50/ton carbon from ALL producers,and the revunues go to lower payroll and income taxes across the board. Surely we can agree on this! :) > It would be one thing if the increased price of gas was due to more > taxes being added so more mass transit could be built and better > highways and streets. Europeans pay more for gas because of that. But > no this is all going into the pockets of the filthy rich. Yes, it would > be great if we could reduce oil consumption but the oil companies put > obstacles in our way for that. > > As for BushCo, it is happening under their watch (or non-watch since > chucklenuts admitted he was unaware of $4 gas prices). I would go as > far as to say it was part of their plan. Baghdad and Iraq was just a > testing grounds to what they want to do to the US. They hate us for our > freedom. >
