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A free market fix is not a right-now fix, right? The market is a powerful force but usually takes a little while to adapt. The optimal fix would probably involv

A free market fix is not a right-now fix, right? The market is a powerful force but usually takes a little while to adapt. The optimal fix would probably involve short-term regulation and long-term market solutions?

zo1 11y ago
In this case, the market will very quickly adapt. Because not adapting (increasing prices, reducing usage/costs, etc), will cause businesses to fail. And no one likes losing money or closing businesses, but they don't mind reduced profit. The problem is that all this "short-term regulation" has caused increasing and cumulative lopsidedness in all sorts of relatively harmless areas of the market. That if we were to now "resort to the free market approach", we'd have a huge swath of population up in arms while the market self-corrects. I.e. Farmers lose profits, forced to reduce water costs or close down. Then you'd have have all the consumers complaining about the rising costs of X,Y,Z. Then, you get the farm-workers unions (farms closing, jobs lost, etc) complaining. Then the politicians who want to cry-foul and make a campaign out of yet-more-free-stuff. It's a snow-ball effect, and I exaggerate a little for effect above. Point being, there is no such thing as a "short-term regulation" fix without long-term dependency and momentum.
- wavefunction 11y ago
  How quickly do you think "replacement" farms can be set up. I dunno about the wisdom some times of people expressing "markets solve problems best."
  - raldi 11y ago
    The almond speculators will lose their shirts, but those are the risks of growing water-intensive crops in the desert. Many other crops, though, are planted annually, and skipping a field-year, or switching to a less water-intensive plant, is absolutely an option. Google "crop rotation".
  - zo1 11y ago
    I think considering "replacement farms" is probably why you think that a market-solution couldn't work in this case. Think more out of the box, such as imports, or farms progressively further and further away (i.e. nearby states) ramping-up production to meet this newly-created demand. Heck, even consumer demand can change when products in high-demand have their price increase and there is little-left of it. Suddenly people make-do without certain things, change behavior patterns to suit their budget, and find alternatives. I.e. Almonds, as one of the other responders mentioned to your comment. This is not something people "can't live without". If they wanted it prior to this market-adjustment, they'll probably not want it now that it's price has doubled. Or tripled if local shops start importing it from foreign suppliers.
- s73v3r 11y ago
  "Quickly" is a relative term. I highly doubt most of these large farms would be able to adapt by the end of the summer.

zo1 11y ago

In this case, the market will very quickly adapt. Because not adapting (increasing prices, reducing usage/costs, etc), will cause businesses to fail. And no one likes losing money or closing businesses, but they don't mind reduced profit. The problem is that all this "short-term regulation" has caused increasing and cumulative lopsidedness in all sorts of relatively harmless areas of the market. That if we were to now "resort to the free market approach", we'd have a huge swath of population up in arms while the market self-corrects. I.e. Farmers lose profits, forced to reduce water costs or close down. Then you'd have have all the consumers complaining about the rising costs of X,Y,Z. Then, you get the farm-workers unions (farms closing, jobs lost, etc) complaining. Then the politicians who want to cry-foul and make a campaign out of yet-more-free-stuff. It's a snow-ball effect, and I exaggerate a little for effect above. Point being, there is no such thing as a "short-term regulation" fix without long-term dependency and momentum.

wavefunction 11y ago
How quickly do you think "replacement" farms can be set up. I dunno about the wisdom some times of people expressing "markets solve problems best."
- raldi 11y ago
  The almond speculators will lose their shirts, but those are the risks of growing water-intensive crops in the desert. Many other crops, though, are planted annually, and skipping a field-year, or switching to a less water-intensive plant, is absolutely an option. Google "crop rotation".
- zo1 11y ago
  I think considering "replacement farms" is probably why you think that a market-solution couldn't work in this case. Think more out of the box, such as imports, or farms progressively further and further away (i.e. nearby states) ramping-up production to meet this newly-created demand. Heck, even consumer demand can change when products in high-demand have their price increase and there is little-left of it. Suddenly people make-do without certain things, change behavior patterns to suit their budget, and find alternatives. I.e. Almonds, as one of the other responders mentioned to your comment. This is not something people "can't live without". If they wanted it prior to this market-adjustment, they'll probably not want it now that it's price has doubled. Or tripled if local shops start importing it from foreign suppliers.
s73v3r 11y ago
"Quickly" is a relative term. I highly doubt most of these large farms would be able to adapt by the end of the summer.