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The trick to getting people to stop polluting is to remove limited liability and enforce property rights. If you have to ensure your business, your insurer wil
by dantheman 16y ago
The trick to getting people to stop polluting is to remove limited liability and enforce property rights. If you have to ensure your business, your insurer will make sure that you follow their regulations and if you don't they won't pay and you'll go bankrupt. The property owner gets to sue the polluter, and thus they get compensated instead of the fine going to the government it goes to those who are hurt.
- notauser 16y agoThe reason we have limited liability is because we wished to promote company ownership to more people. Personally I'm right behind the idea of telling people that if they, or their pension fund, owns one share in BP they are jointly and severally liable for the entire corporate obligation of the company. It's certainly make more people take exercising their oversight duties more seriously. Attendance at shareholder meetings to elect boards would be much higher. But I think it might have a few unexpected impacts on the availability of capital that you should think about. There aren't many people who would be willing to take that risk.
- dantheman 16y agoI think things would change, but I don't know how much. Through insurance and bonding the risk can be mitigated, but the cost of owning the stock (the rates you need to pay) are now determined by the companies behavior so it becomes in their best interest to not cut corners. By aligning interests the problem goes away.