Less Blood and Gore

They (David Blood and Al Gore) wrote this editorial in the WSJ and I sent these two letters in response:

Al Gore and David Blood don’t seem to understand tradeoffs (“We Need Sustainable Capitalism”, Nov 5). They are correct in recognizing that social bads like extreme poverty and disease deserve our attention, but they fail to see how their proposals to stop the “climate crisis”, by placing a price on carbon, stand in the way. With carbon-based energy such a significant portion of the budget, the only way much of the world’s poor — and I’m talking about more than just the American poor; they are rich by global standards — will make ends meet in an environment of taxed carbon is to either go without or be subsidized by the wealthy. Going without will ensure they stay in poverty; subsidization through the tax system leaves less money in the hands of entrepreneurs to help develop and distribute the medicines that will cure diseases. It will simply lead to more of the redistribution supported by the just-elected Obama administration.

We’ve heard their prognostications in other venues about the worst case-scenarios of doing nothing about the climate. It’s time we also had a discussion of the worst-case scenarios of taking action. If we do hold such a discussion, I’m sure a severe worsening of many of the ills Mssrs Gore and Blood hope to cure will be among them.

Matt Hutchison
Chicago

Al Gore and David Blood talk about their “new philosophy of investment management and business” (“We Need Sustainable Capitalism”, Nov 5), but I’m sad to tell them what their doing isn’t all that new or original. People have been trying to make a buck by manipulating the political system in their favor for some time now. While I’m all for their efforts to raise private money for renewable energy, clean technology, etc, these investments won’t be profitable for some time without governmental subsidies or usage mandates. The only way they can expect to generate returns for their investors is to pressure (or persuade) their friends in Washington to help them out. And judging by the rhetoric of newly-elected Barack Obama, who by his own account started slowing the rise of the oceans simply by being nominated for the presidency, Mssrs Gore and Blood will get plenty of help. New philosophy indeed.

Matt Hutchison
Chicago