"Copy of a Libertarian Email"
Here is some interesting thoughts on the BP Oil Spill, I hope you enjoy it!
AG
May 10, 2010
Dear Friend of Liberty,
You've probably seen a lot about the big BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Libertarians are sometimes attacked for not having good answers to environmental questions. In this case, I think there are problems that Republicans and Democrats in Congress have created, and Libertarians would have handled things differently.
(If you're not particularly interested in detailed policy studies or arguments, it's always good to remember that Libertarians try to base our positions on fundamental principles of freedom and personal responsibility.)
I think a big problem here is the fact that federal law limits the liability of BP (and Transocean, the company that actually owned the rig.)
The New York Times has reported that federal law limits BP's liability to $75 million, and Transocean's liability to $65 million.
These kinds of artificial liability limits distort the markets, and basically create "moral hazard" by encouraging companies to act in riskier ways than they would otherwise. If BP's well causes damage to property, then BP should be fully liable for all of the damage. It is BP's reponsibility to "make whole" whoever gets damaged.
If Congress hadn't limited BP's liability, it's likely that BP would have acted differently. Knowing that a spill could cost them billions, BP might have demanded additional safeguards for their well, or tested their safeguards more thoroughly. These choices would have been expensive, but they might have prevented the huge costs that the spill area is now facing.
BP has said that it will pay all "legitimate claims," even if they go past the liability limit. The problem is that when it comes to property damage, a court should decide what "legitimate claims" are, not the offending company!
Of course, now we're likely to see a flurry of reactive legislation, as members of Congress try to pile on BP for political reasons. And, Congress will probably use the spill as an excuse to increase its market interference and shovel more subsidies into uneconomical "alternative energy."
(It's possible that if energy companies did not have the benefits of artificial liability limits, the market might decide that some alternative energy would be cost effective. But that's for the free market to decide, not Congress using taxpayer subsidies.)
As the Libertarian Party platform says, "Free markets and property rights stimulate the technological innovations and behavioral changes required to protect our environment and ecosystems."
Congress should take this opportunity to get out of the market, but instead they'll probably create new subsidies, special commissions and government agencies. It's just one more good reason to support Libertarian candidates in the elections this November.
Finally, be wary of politicians who make it sound like government can lead us to a utopia free of accidents. Even if a world with no man-made disasters were possible, natural disasters such as volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and epidemics would still happen.
Sincerely,
Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee
P.S. If you have not yet become a member of the Libertarian Party and wish to do so, please click here and join the only political party dedicated to free markets and civil liberties. If you need to renew, please click here. If you would like to make a contribution separate from membership, please click here.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
People are Strange
There is a lot of chatter about Tea Parties and Progressives.
Does anyone understand the terminology of these things?
How both sides throw stones and name calling back and forth?
What does it mean? How do we differ?
Is the divide done to incite and split an American public, so both the Dems and the Republicans can use this slight of hand to distract the voters, while both parties work there own agendas? While they spend our money and line their pockets in the scared halls of the government building we pay for. What is their agendas and why are both side so hell bent on not meeting on issues and working out the greater good.
There was a time in the past, that all of the people were Americans first and a party member second.
Have we strayed so far from the foundation of what America is meant to be?
In a little over 200 years we have became the world power, our currency is the stable of the world and we as Americans give more money to other countries then any other country in the world.
We are a great people and have achieved so much in such a short period of time, why do they cut us into parties and not Americans? Control?
The Spartans had a great system of accountability for their governance. They would have an open election and the winner of the popular vote was elected for one year. The great part of their system was at the end of the persons term, they would put them on trial and if they were proven to be incompetent or oppressive, the would sentence them to death. Think about how much pressure the politician would be under to do the right thing, if that was the law of the land!
Now I am not suggesting this sort of system, but I am looking for accountability.
I had the pleasure of a reasonable debate with a lefty, after we rapid-fired a series of numbers and banter, we final got the core believes. This is when we run into issues, they are so far from my own views that we may as well been talking in different languages.
Does anyone understand the terminology of these things?
How both sides throw stones and name calling back and forth?
What does it mean? How do we differ?
Is the divide done to incite and split an American public, so both the Dems and the Republicans can use this slight of hand to distract the voters, while both parties work there own agendas? While they spend our money and line their pockets in the scared halls of the government building we pay for. What is their agendas and why are both side so hell bent on not meeting on issues and working out the greater good.
There was a time in the past, that all of the people were Americans first and a party member second.
Have we strayed so far from the foundation of what America is meant to be?
In a little over 200 years we have became the world power, our currency is the stable of the world and we as Americans give more money to other countries then any other country in the world.
We are a great people and have achieved so much in such a short period of time, why do they cut us into parties and not Americans? Control?
The Spartans had a great system of accountability for their governance. They would have an open election and the winner of the popular vote was elected for one year. The great part of their system was at the end of the persons term, they would put them on trial and if they were proven to be incompetent or oppressive, the would sentence them to death. Think about how much pressure the politician would be under to do the right thing, if that was the law of the land!
Now I am not suggesting this sort of system, but I am looking for accountability.
I had the pleasure of a reasonable debate with a lefty, after we rapid-fired a series of numbers and banter, we final got the core believes. This is when we run into issues, they are so far from my own views that we may as well been talking in different languages.
Diversity is one of the strengths of America, as is opposing ideas. But when we are on opposite sides of the world, how do you find common ground?
You would think that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights would be a place to start, but I tried that, to no avail.
Therefore, I would like your input. I do not want to talk about "Taking Points", I want to talk about common ground and what you think America is and were we should be going....
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