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Damn bro, you are missing the point. As has been described, pure market mechanisms do not and cannot price externalities correctly. That’s why we have environm

by b1daly 8y ago

Damn bro, you are missing the point. As has been described, pure market mechanisms do not and cannot price externalities correctly. That’s why we have environmental regulation, as imperfect as it is. This implicitly means a society does make choices about how energy is used. Therefore, a discussion about societal priorities amongst individuals is essential. Likewise with regulation related to finance and money. Energy and money. Among the most highly regulated things in all societies. I agree with the poster that POW cryptocoin systems are a shocking waste of electricity. In addition, the only use cases that have proved viable are illegal or highly destructive to the social fabric. When you look at the sheer amount of money transferred from losers to winners, it’s clear that this is not a benefit to anyone. The scams, the hacks, the thefts. Bitcoin and it’s ilk are parasitic systems that weaken the host. To compare to Ferraris, well Ferraris are a niche product, are already regulated, and have a historical component that accounts for their hedonic properties. To compare bitcoin to hello kitty backpacks is just a category error, which belies that the argument is disengenuous.

baddox 8y ago
Perhaps you’re misunderstanding my point. I’m not against environmental regulations and I don’t expect market mechanisms to eliminate externalities. On the contrary, I want environmental regulations that reduce (ideally eliminate) externalities in the cost of energy. This should, almost by definition, be the goal of environmental regulations. Cap and trade on energy producers, for instance, can and probably does do this. As for the stuff about cryptocurrencies being associated with scams and wealth inequality, to me that’s entirely independent of environmental impact and should be dealt with (and probably can be dealt with using existing laws) regardless of the environmental impact.

by b1daly 8y ago

baddox 8y ago

Perhaps you’re misunderstanding my point. I’m not against environmental regulations and I don’t expect market mechanisms to eliminate externalities. On the contrary, I want environmental regulations that reduce (ideally eliminate) externalities in the cost of energy. This should, almost by definition, be the goal of environmental regulations. Cap and trade on energy producers, for instance, can and probably does do this. As for the stuff about cryptocurrencies being associated with scams and wealth inequality, to me that’s entirely independent of environmental impact and should be dealt with (and probably can be dealt with using existing laws) regardless of the environmental impact.