Thread: Environment
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Old 03-28-2017, 06:24 PM   #9
Ian
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Quote:
Originally Posted by detbuch View Post
That is the market working (in spite of regulations). That would happen naturally, without federal regulation. And Trump's EO relaxes Obama's regulations on natural gas and fracking as well as on coal. So those industries can expand, hire more, and produce more energy, including electricity, and help to lower prices.

And technology making coal mining more efficient is a historical trend, not just a reaction to Obama regulations. And, even though tech advances reduce the need of manpower in existing plants, opening up federal lands to coal mining will require a new crop of jobs if there is still any life left in coal.

I don't know if any of this makes any difference, good or bad, but there are arguments both ways. I am not confident in saying any projection or prophecy is laughable. I am a skeptic when it comes to any prediction. But I do think that a free market produces better "economy" than a highly regulated one.
American history is filled with horror stories regarding "the market" when left unchecked. Collapses, scandals, abused workers... despite all of that we still have people asking to "just let the markets work."

I'll admit, regulations are tough to enforce in a relevant manner at a blanket level, but to just trust that a bunch of companies are going to make the right decisions for "the little guy" is crazy.
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