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And if they scrap oil subsidies too, the market can figure it all out. But looks like most direct and indirect O&G subsidies will remain.

• awinder 9y ago
  ~ rolls eyes ~ if you seriously believe the market magically deals with externalized costs
  • deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  • BinaryIdiot 9y ago
    The market doesn't care about external costs, you're right. One thing to keep in mind though is that we may be nearing the time in which the market could handle this because renewables are getting very cheap. I'm not sure if we're at the point where if you dropped all oil subsidies that renewables would be cheaper (maybe not? I haven't done the math) but we should be getting close if we're not already there. At that point the market could, in theory, move to the one with the higher profit margins while still not caring about external costs.
• smnrchrds 9y ago
  If we want to leave it all to the markets, we need to consider the externalities too, e.g. through a carbon tax.
  • aoeuasdf1 9y ago
    Which doesn't even take into account other serious externalities like smog.
• NeonVice 9y ago
  O&G companies are able to write off the cost of doing business just like other businesses. They are not "subsidies". https://www.forbes.com/sites/drillinginfo/2016/02/22/debunking-myths-about-federal-oil-gas-subsidies/#cbd6cf06e1cd https://www.forbes.com/sites/drillinginfo/2016/02/22/debunki...
  • lostlogin 9y ago
    It’s a ballsy move to compare the oil and gas industries to health. There is plenty to criticise about the way the US healthcare system is run, but do people really begrudge treating the two industries differently?
    • SilasX 9y ago
      Yes, I do begrudge the dickens out of people who insist that being able to deduct oil exploration costs is an unfair "subsidy" to oil and whose removal would instantly turbocharge renewables by itself. Letting companies deduct expenses like everyone else is not a subsidy. It's like it's become part of the common mythos, that US oil companies get massive cash subsidies that are the sole reason they're not beaten by renewables, but the moment you apply any scrutiny it falls apart. (Environmental concerns are legit, but the lack of better regulation is a non-standard usage of "subsidy" and people go further to claim that tax-deductions-everyone-gets are subsidies.)
      • lostlogin 9y ago
        Do not think that some industries should be disincentivised and others incentivised?
        • SilasX 9y ago
          I think specific activities, irrespective of industry, should have their external costs priced in. I don't think that failure to do so the same thing as a cash subsidy.
          • lostlogin 9y ago
            So stick approach rather than a carrot? If that’s what you mean I think I prefer this.
  • computerphage 9y ago
    That author claims that tax exemptions aren't subsidies "according to Dictionary.com".
• microcolonel 9y ago
  I'm generally in favour of allowing the market to do its work. That said, in the case of emissions, it is too expensive to attribute and process torts, so the true cost of emissions is rarely ever passed on to even very large polluters who have damaged a lot of property. This is why the original mandate of the EPA is so legitimate. I'm with you on the subsidies though.