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[Baronski13]

You have not rebutted me at all. You speak of principles, but I'm talking about specifics. I agree with you in principle, but to every rule there are exceptions.

"What's economically efficient does tend tend to be environmentally safe." How absurd. On its own, the free market would dump toxic waste into rivers, use lead in paint for toys, and rely on an energy source that pollutes the atmosphere. These are real-life examples that have happened and still do. How can you deny it?

[libertyeconomics]

Well, I couldn't rebut your position with precision in this forum, since there's just not enough space. However, I could refer you to some of my writing. Also, what's economically efficient does tend to be environmentally safe.

[Baronski13]

90% of the time, the free market leads to exactly one goal. Not what is most environmentally safe. Not what is a better long-term solution. The free market does whatever is cheapest (aka most efficient for producers). So anything that requires extra investment, raising prices over competitors, will usually fall through.

Usually that's fine. I trust the free market. But for energy, the govt needs to offer incentives to make clean energy competitive. I think most Americans agree it's important.

[libertyeconomics]

Well if you think things through more carefully, I think you would agree that the most economically efficient way is the cleanest way. Within the construct of the unhampered free market, is there a tendency to conserve resources or waste resources? Conserve resources. It's the state that incentivizes waste.

[Baronski13]

The price mechanism will allocate resources in the cheapest way, certainly not the "cleanest" way. But sometimes short-term cheap isn't the best thing in the long run. In the case of clean energy, it is the responsible thing for a society to do--move off of a finite resource that creates a lot of pollution and environmental problems, and move toward renewable energy that is cleaner and safer. But because it's not cheaper right away, the free market wouldn't do it on its own.

[libertyeconomics]

Not an attack ad. Nice ad. I'm not so certain I agree with the economics of everything, as I believe the price mechanism will help us allocate resources in the most efficient and cleanest way. But it's a good ad.

[libertyeconomics]

It's a good ad.