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Water is a scarce resource. A market system is the objectively the best mechanism for allocating scarce resources. (Of course, if you object to a pure market

by pdog 9y ago

Water is a scarce resource. A market system is the objectively the best mechanism for allocating scarce resources. (Of course, if you object to a pure market system, the government can regulate the market and subsidize residential tap water.) Why isn't water priced accordingly?

conanbatt 9y ago
> Water is a scarce resource. Water is not scarce! We got plenty. The model of water being a limited resource we have to save does not represent an economic reality. We have an entire planet worth of water and we are not shooting it out to space. We know how to use it, how to clean it, etc. We will never run out of water. We might run out of 'free' water, but thats the whole point of using a resource, consuming it.
- pdog 9y ago
  If water isn't scarce, why complain that Coca-Cola is using so much?
  - conanbatt 9y ago
    I wonder what could someone extract from coca-cola for their own self interest.
- LyndsySimon 9y ago
  Water may not be scarce (with some exceptions), but potable water certainly is. In most of the world and throughout most of history, potable water has always been a very valuable commodity. Particularly in the case of aquifer depletion, it's a very real issue. There may well be a large reserve of potable water available, but once it's used it may take hundreds, thousands, or millions of years to naturally replenish. Aquifers are often not a renewable resource on human timescales.
rbanffy 9y ago
> Why isn't water priced accordingly? Are you OK with your family dying of thirst if you can't pay for water?
- LyndsySimon 9y ago
  It beats my family dying of thirst because of government policy - enforced by legions of armed agents, if necessary - prevents my access to it. If the price of water is artificially set below market value, then demand is higher and supply is lower than it would otherwise be. If it costs $3 / gallon to transport water to where I live, and the government sets the price of water at $2 / gallon, guess what? No one transports water to where I live. Without that intervention, water might cost $4 / gallon, but at least it's available.
  - rbanffy 9y ago
    What if nobody needs to die of thirst because drinking water is considered an inalienable right?

by pdog 9y ago

conanbatt 9y ago

> Water is a scarce resource. Water is not scarce! We got plenty. The model of water being a limited resource we have to save does not represent an economic reality. We have an entire planet worth of water and we are not shooting it out to space. We know how to use it, how to clean it, etc. We will never run out of water. We might run out of 'free' water, but thats the whole point of using a resource, consuming it.

pdog 9y ago
If water isn't scarce, why complain that Coca-Cola is using so much?
- conanbatt 9y ago
  I wonder what could someone extract from coca-cola for their own self interest.
LyndsySimon 9y ago
Water may not be scarce (with some exceptions), but potable water certainly is. In most of the world and throughout most of history, potable water has always been a very valuable commodity. Particularly in the case of aquifer depletion, it's a very real issue. There may well be a large reserve of potable water available, but once it's used it may take hundreds, thousands, or millions of years to naturally replenish. Aquifers are often not a renewable resource on human timescales.

rbanffy 9y ago

> Why isn't water priced accordingly? Are you OK with your family dying of thirst if you can't pay for water?

LyndsySimon 9y ago
It beats my family dying of thirst because of government policy - enforced by legions of armed agents, if necessary - prevents my access to it. If the price of water is artificially set below market value, then demand is higher and supply is lower than it would otherwise be. If it costs $3 / gallon to transport water to where I live, and the government sets the price of water at $2 / gallon, guess what? No one transports water to where I live. Without that intervention, water might cost $4 / gallon, but at least it's available.
- rbanffy 9y ago
  What if nobody needs to die of thirst because drinking water is considered an inalienable right?