Hacker News Reader

Comment by helmholtz | Hacker News Reader

A masterful suggestion. Truly inspired. Why don't you also promote the privatisation of air next? I shouldn't be breathing so much. No wait! Better idea. Totally privatize all land. How dare I walk from place to place with no regards for practicality, efficiency or common sense. Maybe my organs can also be allocated. _Two_ kidneys?! When there are some who only have one? Reappropriation, immédiatement.

Compare your cows with Silicon, Steel or really a 100 other things in short supply now, despite your wet dream free market left untouched, and you'll see the folly of your harebrained suggestion. My god!

View on HN

> A masterful suggestion. Truly inspired.

It would actually solve the water crisis. What is currently happening is the government is giving away water at an underpriced value leading farmers to not implement more water conserving practices or grow less water-intensive crops. Also the water crisis in California is from agriculture practices not from urban dwellers running out of drinking water.

Just randomly setting the price of water below it's actual market price doesn't magically wave away the shortages caused when more people want to grow pistachios/alfalfa/etc... than the rivers can actually support.

> Why don't you also promote the privatisation of air next? I shouldn't be breathing so much.

There is actually cap and trade to stop power plants to let them freely put carbon dioxide/other pollutants into the air. It is in effect 'privatizing' the air trying to prevent the tragedy of the commons.

A more efficient way to deal with CO2 pollution is to simply tax the carbon content of fuels. Keep raising the tax until the CO2 emissions meet targets.

I must compliment you on spelling harebrained right. Most people write it as hairbrained, which makes no sense.

> A masterful suggestion. Truly inspired.

Thanks for your kind words!

As for things in short supply, as long as the government doesn't engage in price fixing, you'll be able to buy it.

Paul Graham tweeted yesterday the stunning news that as fertilizer prices went up, some farmers are not going to plant. The whole point of the price rise was to tamp down demand until it met supply.

If you want to see destruction of land on a grand scale, visit the former Soviet bloc countries, which are the worst polluted on Earth.

I don't particularly care for PGs tweets to be honest. Don't think he has that much substantial stuff to say.

I'm desperately looking for a lot of things at work that are unavailable no matter the price. No Si, no party.

I'm certainly not holding up USSR as an example for anything. Having grown up in a socialist country, you'd be hard pressed to find me advocating for it. On the other hand, rampant uncontrolled capitalism just isn't my cup of tea and I'd hate to live somewhere where a Sundae Pichai or Satya Nadella controls my water.

Rampant uncontrolled capitalism produced the high standard of living we enjoy today.

Capitalism controls the food you eat. Are you concerned?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com