Notes
Environmental Justice
The Story of Broke
- Many governments, state and federal, have tried to create laws with the concerns of environmental justice advocates
- Political movement emerged to ensure all communities don't bear a disproportionate share of pollution
- One reason where pollution is high in low income places is the price of land. In low income places, land is cheap making factories cheap
- Remains to be seen if the governments will work to achieve environmental justice
- There is not enough affordable housing across urban areas and those with low pollution
- In asking who bears burden of existing pollution, advocates and researchers are asking right questions
- If a steel producing company can minimize production cost by dumping waste for free, the company will do so.
- Pollution will be counted as external cost that are passed on to society and environment
- Supply curve is related to private production cost
- With this curve included, it shows that less steel should be produced at a higher price.
- Government can tax company for polluting river. This money can be used to help restore the river
- Technology cannot achieve that outcome at a reasonable economic level
- We need to determine level of pollution that is both beneficial and cost-efficient
- Necessary to determine a level of pollution reduction that is beneficial and cost efficient
- If a river is polluted to the point of no swimming and no fishing, it makes no sense to clean it up anymore
- As technology improves, social cost shifts outward which means it's practical to increase pollution reduction
The Story of Broke
- Taxes go to pay the "better future" promised by all politicians
- Instead of moving forwards, things are moving backwards like reducing the size of schools, the EPA, social security and medicare.
- After tax loopholes and breaks for the corporate 23% there is still about 2 trillion dollars left over
- Social benefit will be reduced as pollution reduction increases
- As pollution reduction is nearing 100 percent, social cost rises dramatically
- "Broke" story hides a much bigger story, a story of dumb choices being made for us, choices that work against us.
- Government lifts company dragging us down instead of building a better future
- Everywhere in the economy you will find subsidies
- Military takes biggest chunk of taxes, then trying to fix old economy through subsidies
- Tax subsidies excuse big corporations from contributing their fair share. These subsidies contribute to billions we should be collecting to put to good use.
- Problem is that the government is lifting companies that are dragging us down
- Risk transfer subsidies government acts as an insurance or investment for a corporation doing risky things
- Externalized costs are costs that aren't recognized and puts trillions including damage to environment, public health and climate.
- Senators wanting to keep oil subsidies earned 5 times more in big oil campaign cash than those who were against it.
- Superfund clean up cost is $140,000,000 which should be paid by the corporations while we invest in safer materials
- We need to subsidize zero waste and raising recycle rate to 75% will create new jobs
- Keeping the economy on life support when we could be doing something better