Obama's Cap and Trade and Other Regulations will make Environment Worse

When I think of Cap and Trade and government efforts towards a better environment, I think of an interesting encounter I had while conducting seminars on Free Market economics. When I traveled Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, I was horrified by the pollution levels. Poland was particularly bad. I remember escaping to a large park because of the trees there actually made it easier to breathe. Much of the time my eyes simply watered and I coughed. It was miserable. I had a meeting with an economist in the Polish government and he noticed my distress. "What's wrong?" I said politely, "well, it seems I have caught something in your country." "Yes, we call it pollution, what do you call it in your country?" and smiled. I said, "why is it so bad?" He said, "well, it isn't because of the laws, we have the toughest environmental laws of any country in the world." Sure enough, I did my homework, and that was true at the time. He went on to say "the problem was recognized long ago by Aristotle who said 'What is common to the greatest number gets the least amount of care. Men pay most attention to what is their own; they care less for what is common; or at any rate they care for it only to the extent to which each is individually concerned. Even when there is no other cause for inattention, men are more prone to neglect their duty when they think that another is attending to it.'" He went on to say that he hoped that the moves the country was making towards free markets would lead to more ownership and better care of the environment.

Later, in another meeting he said, "the answer to these environmental problems are found in technology, not regulation." I liked the sound of that, so I asked him to elaborate, "as we recover economically, have more ownership, we will enjoy greater capital formation, which will lead to better and more efficient technology. That, more than anything else will reduce pollution." I casually responded, "I have never seen a poor country that wasn't polluted" and he responded back, "neither have I."

I have done further research on other government efforts to reduce pollution and found more stories that point to private, and not government, solutions. For example, according to the National Center for Policy Analysis, 90 percent of all dollars spent on the Super Fund has actually gone to lawyers and not clean ups.

The Obama Administration's multi tiered policies of Cap and Trade, CAFE Standards, and "Cash for Clunkers" (which largely benefits foreign auto makers, rather than domestic) while taxing wealth and job creation (which will only lead to more poverty), will actually contribute to more pollution in the years to come. One may be able to argue that one could pursue the aggressive regulations he desires in a strong economy, but in our current situation he is begging for immediate economic ruin and long term environmental disaster.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

The American Magazine: Excellent Reading

One of the great things about the Internet is the huge volume of information that is available in virtually every area under the sun. It is also one of the biggest problems with the Internet, creating a massive recycling of content and quite difficult to find anything remotely original.

With that, I was thrilled to stumble on the new American Magazine. The writing is sharp and concise and (more importantly) the thought is very original. It doesn't bore you by acting smart (long and laborious), but by being smart in the way it approaches problems and polices.

One of my favorite sections of the magazine is "The American Scene," which provides windows of what is going on in the economy. Recent articles included:

* The Venti Effect. This article examines the positive impact that Starbucks Coffee has had on smaller competitors. Who would have guessed that a big chain like Starbucks would do the necessary market research to tell smaller competitors where to place stores? Because of Starbucks pricing model, this smaller stores can typically compete quite well when it comes to pricing. This is a very contrarian view of large businesses.

* The Myth of Offshoring Pollution. Extreme environmentalists are continually arguing that the sky is falling, and if there has been any reduction in pollution in the US it is because the manufacturing jobs have been exported. A telling article from the American points out that in areas where there have been higher manufacturing production in this country, there has been a decrease in polution. What is the real cause of reduction? New technology.

* In Ease of Paying Taxes, We're #76. We hear many platitudes about the great free enterprise system in the United States. There is no doubt about it, the US is wildly successful by world standards, but a recent report from PriceWaterhouse and reviewed by the American shows that we are ranked 76 in terms of ease of payment of taxes. We are successful in spite of our system and not because of it.

There are other great articles through out the magazine and it will certainly become "must reading" in preparing for my radio show and writing in this blog. On its excellent website you will also find great audio programs with some of the finest minds in business, politics, and culture today, like this interview with author Tyler Cowen (author of Markets and Cultural Voices).

I suggest spending time with American today.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.