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I don't argue that it makes sense. I think it's bad policy. Quit subsidizing. Internalize the externalities. Let the market figure it out. I don't want to su
by ghouse 12y ago
I don't argue that it makes sense. I think it's bad policy. Quit subsidizing. Internalize the externalities. Let the market figure it out.
I don't want to subsidize a utility. If I want to subsidize the poor, I'll give them money and let them figure it out. Maybe they'd rather spend it on better insulation. Or a sweater. Subsidizing the utility does exactly that. It doesn't subsidize the poor.
- kbenson 12y agoWater is a requirement for human life, not a luxury. We subsidize water because it's a basic need. Markets are good at finding the correct price, we've just decided that we're unwilling to accept the "correct" price being too high, as it would undoubtedly be in some instances. This causes problems where it meets with industry and their use of water. The problem is exacerbated by water "rights" based on land ownership.
- SilasX 12y agoOur point was that the current policy is the wrong way to subsidize water, even accepting those considerations. If you make water artificially cheap all the time, people abuse it unsustainably. The better policy is to subsidize the first N units for each person but make them pay the real cost for the rest. "Water is a necessity" is woefully insufficient to justify current policy, so repeating the arguments doesn't advance the discussion.
- kbenson 12y agoI was responding specifically to "Quit subsidizing. Internalize the externalities. Let the market figure it out." "Water is a necessity" is woefully insufficient to justify current policy, but it does help explain why just letting the market sort it out may not be the best choice.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]