Handing Out Prizes

You know things are heating up when Pulitzer Prize winning NYTimes columnists start pontificating on climate change. Today we see a piece by big-time insider David Leonhardt bemoaning the fact that the carbon pricing scheme put forth by his Nobel Prize-winning hero economist, Richard Nordhaus, hasn't taken hold. Both of these famous "intellectuals" exist to promote "democratic" capitalism, making the apologetics on display a bit embarrassing, but of course blame can be directed at those silly conservative Republicans who don't know how to use "government" to correct market failure. It may be "politically impossible" he tells us.

The title of the article is Putting a Price on the End of the World but what he really can't imagine (you guessed it) is the end of capitalism. Or economic growth measured as GDP. The indefatigable Thomas L Friedman also has a column about climate change, claiming the issue is Trump's Achilles heel. I can't bother reading the article but I imagine it contains all the "new research" about green capitalism and 100% clean energy and all the millions of new high paying jobs and clean growth the Democrats should be promoting. Thomas loves all that optimistic stuff about progress and all.

Leonhardt notes "the middle class and poor have been struggling with slow income growth" and a tax on energy is not popular to voters. And stops his analysis there- a conundrum. Because as we all know, voters are not allowed to tax only the wealthy in "democratic" capitalism, after all, they are the investors and job creators and will go on strike. The answer of course (as always) is simply more growth.

Notice the euphoria over recent US economic performance: the stock market at record levels, unemployment as low as its been since the sixties, even ( sorry, Leonhardt) slight wage growth in certain sectors! Happy Days Are Here Again! Have you noticed any mention of emissions in this reporting? No. More income trickles down, more consumption, higher emissions and Trump's re-election all but guaranteed. If I can suddenly buy a new IPhone you know who I'm voting for! And if it sounds like the Green New Deal threatens that you know who I'm not voting for. Voila, Capitalist Democracy in a nutshell. Patiently awaiting my Pulitzer and Nobel prizes.