Comments On Evolutionary Economics. Vol. Ii, No.4. December 12, 2019 Economic Policy Regarding Trash, Pollution And Climate Change

The Assumption Of These Papers Is That The Justification For Government Is To Provide For The Common Welfare. The Basic Historical Premise Of Economics Is That Taxable "Value" Is Directly Related To The Sale Transaction Amount. This Is Ridiculous: By Any Rational Measure, The Economic Cost Of War To The Government And To Society Is Not The Cost Of The Soldiers And Equipment With Which The War Is Conducted. Likewise, The Economic Cost Of Trash And Pollution Is Not The Sale Value Of The Trash And Pollution, It Is The Cost Of Recycling Trash And Pollution To Another Location Or Medium. The Costs Of Government Are Only Distantly Related To The Gnp. This Is Not A Minor Issue; It Is The Central Issue Of Modern Economics, Because Almost Everything Now Produced Will - Within Minutes Or Days Or A Few Years Or Decades- Be Entirely Junked, That Is, Thrown Out Or Vented To The Nearest Receptacle Or Space Or Atmosphere, Where It Becomes The Continuing Problem- And Ultimately Expense- Of The Rest Of The Population. Thus, Everyone Who Produces Anything Or Consumes Anything Causes Costs And Environmental Degradation To The Rest Of The Population, And To Their Governments, And These Costs May Greatly Exceed The "Sale" Value Of The Items Themselves. Historically, This Has Not Been A Problem To Producers Or Consumers, As There Has Historically Been No "Right" Of The Populace To Clean Air, Clean Water, Or A Clean Environment, And Land Was Always Available To Be Conquered From Less Well Armed Neighbors. For Some Time, However, Feudalism Has Become Obsolete, There Is An Ever-Diminishing Basis For Rights Of The Conqueror Or Owner, At Least In Law, And Government Has Begun To Evolve From The Rights Of A Ruling And Commercial And Financial And Proprietary Class, To A Social Organization In Which The Sole Justification And Purpose Of Government Is The Common Welfare Of Its Populace, Which No Individual Self-Interest Can Publicly Override. In This Evolved Society, Where Any Action Can Be Seen And Identified, It Has Become Possible To See How Production Has Unfortunately Become Essentially The Ever-Increasing Production Of, Ultimately, Almost Nothing But Trash And Pollution: Almost Nothing Today Is Produced Of More Than Transient Value, And, Worse, Almost All Of This Has No Ready Means Of Disposal Without Such Disposal Itself Causing More Pollution And Trash. When This Is Made Clear, Such Production Should Become Unacceptable To The Population At Large, Because It Is Not In Their Welfare, However Much Each Individual Wants To Purchase The Items They, As Individuals, Want. Society At Large Can No Longer Bear These Irresponsible Costs. Governments Must Tax At Rates To Deter Methods And Products Which Generate Trash Or Pollution, And To Charge Producers And Consumers For The Costs Of Complete Remediation Of All Pollution And The Conversion Of All Trash Into New Useful Materials. These Taxes Would Apply To Producers And Be Passed On To Consumers, Who Should Grow Up And Accept Responsibility. Producers Who Best Improve Their Materials, Methods, And Means Of Recycling Would Benefit The Most; Those Which Fail To Compete At This Would Quickly Become Economically Unviable As Their Costs (After Taxes) To Consumers Exceed Costs Of More Technologically Advanced Enterprises. The Government Should Be Responsible For Allocating The Total Costs Of Trash And Pollution To Producers, Who Can Allocate It Between Their Investors And Consumers. This Is A Harm Caused By Particular Producers And Consumers Through Their Willful Actions, But It Should No Be A Cost Born By Members Of Society Who Do Not Cause The Problem. These Taxes Should Be Subject To Review Under Existing Laws And Regulations, Evolving Over Time As They Do In All Other Areas Of Law And Regulation; And, To Ensure Compliance, Could Be Enforced By Penalties For Misrepresentation Far Exceeding The Costs Of Manufacture And Sale. Various Laws Would Need To Be Introduced That Would Make Such Provisions Enforceable.…