Quote:
Originally Posted by slayda
When I was very young, I did what I was told to do. Later in life, when someone told me to do something, I rebelled and did not do what I was told. Eventually I realized that I was being controlled in the second case as much as I was in the first case. That when I determined to make up my own mind and what anyone told me to do did not "force" me in either direction.
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Well put-- and I think it relates to the "religious" nature of some of the underlying assumptions Dennis has been pointing out, as well.
In the case of including the cost of pollution and/or pollution cleanup in the consumer product, it's true that no competitor wants to go first. This is, in my opinion, one of the good uses of government regulation-- to protect the interests of the producers who want to "do the right thing."
How do we ever know when a threat is serious enough to warrant regulation? Excellent question-- I believe sometimes such regulation is justified, and sometimes not. Deciding where to draw that line is something it seems to me requires an informed and involved citizenry.