tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862751130582500985.post1273762306795681864..comments2023-05-20T02:59:34.668-05:00Comments on No, You're Hyperbolic: An Ounce of Prevention . . .jumcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15753433888238396781noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862751130582500985.post-69383136215351086052008-09-24T23:31:00.000-05:002008-09-24T23:31:00.000-05:00cato, of course your question goes to the heart of...cato, of course your question goes to the heart of the matter; and it virtually answers itself: no, one cannot, by that standard, live a "just life" in the US, or much of the West. The US is of course by far the pace-setter, in that we are not only very rich (by world standards) but very wasteful, and much of our comsumption manifestly fails to make our lives better.<BR/><BR/>So what is to be Tony Waltershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03883880092140808832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862751130582500985.post-4694520754027663962008-09-24T16:49:00.000-05:002008-09-24T16:49:00.000-05:00tony, I ask this in all seriousness, and, indeed, ...tony, I ask this in all seriousness, and, indeed, when I was younger, I would agonize about it: Can anyone, no matter how frugal and socially-devoted, live a just life according to this standard if he continues to live anywhere in the United States, or even the West, rather than move to a third-world country and help with vaccines, food, education, water, etc.? I'm not being sarcastic. It is aPericleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06945738688567266186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862751130582500985.post-63770246271717767282008-09-24T16:41:00.000-05:002008-09-24T16:41:00.000-05:00This speaks to the two types of 'investors' involv...This speaks to the two types of 'investors' involved in government. The reactive and the progressive. I wrote an early post on this concept <A HREF="http://noyourehyperbolic.blogspot.com/2008/09/two-types-of-portfolios-two-types-of.html" REL="nofollow">here</A>jumcohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15753433888238396781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862751130582500985.post-80425035165579414702008-09-24T16:25:00.000-05:002008-09-24T16:25:00.000-05:00This is what government is for.An illustration:A f...This is what government is for.<BR/><BR/>An illustration:<BR/><BR/>A few years ago, at dinner with some friends, I confessed to feeling a little guilty about my daily $3 (now $4) stop at Starbucks, when we have so many pressing social needs and so many people in this country who could use such a sum.<BR/><BR/>My friend said, in effect, that it is government's job to provide for a rational Tony Waltershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03883880092140808832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862751130582500985.post-84838532694244230622008-09-24T14:50:00.000-05:002008-09-24T14:50:00.000-05:00So is not the best policy to tax carbon emissions ...So is not the best policy to tax carbon emissions at their source? Of course this is a long way of saying make electricity more expensive, which in turn will make everything else more expensive, and depress economic activity. The other option is to try to get people to use less energy, but, in the end, the only systematic way is to raise the price. Tough choice, huh?Nykilshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17684639614717035794noreply@blogger.com