Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to Wow!

re: Wow
TB — (archived)

What I find irritating is the constant barrage against the private sector around here, with no blame falling where a lot of it should, on those who mostly made the rules. If it wasn't for me, it would be pretty much 100 percent.

I pointed out that there was a lot of blame to go around on both sides (I supposed "mutual backscratching" is a more palatable term than "circle jerk), and Robert isn't having any of it. This is a pure Crisis of Capitalism, and no government bureaucrats or politicians need apply.

Nor do I claim that the solution is zero regulations. I never have. There are some specific government obstacles that need to be removed, and they should be. That doesn't mean no rules against keeping the environment clean while drilling is going on, or restoration after the resource is tapped, among other good regulations.

As for the nuclear industry, our energy situation has gotten to a point where I would welcome a heavily government-regulated nuclear power initiative if that's what it took to get the ball rolling (assuming there's anyone in government with the brains to do it). Given the hazards of nuclear power, I have never assumed that regulations were unnecessary in that industry. Unlike some pure libertarians, I can see limits to post-accident civil suits as a remedy for private industry failures.

Maybe I'd think differently if so much of our imports didn't come from political tinderboxes run by loonies, but they do. This is almost a national security issue. We need to get off the dime, and solar and wind aren't going to do the job by themselves.

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