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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group

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To: jttmab who wrote (158539)	2/27/2005 12:26:35 PM
From: Bilow	Read Replies (1) of 281500

Hi jttmab; Re: "Isn't it the case that tobacco consumers are paying for the unfunded liabilities of the tobacco companies?" If someone is paying for them, I guess they're not unfunded anymore. Re: "Your post suggests that we either ought to start a campaign so that all companies follow the tabacco model or that we ought to change the tobacco model so that those consumers aren't paying for the unfunded liabilities. Which do you propose?" I do not propose making any changes to the current situation. You're the one who wants to stir the pot. My complaint was that you were proposing to stir it in only one way. Given the current and prospective political climates, I'd say that your proposal is dead in the water. If you want to see the Democrats get elected in numbers again that will allow this sort of change, I suggest that you find ways to allow the environment to degrade back to the situation it was in when the Democrats made big coin off the situation. A better place to peddle anti-business environmentalism would be those cities in the less developed nations that still have incredibly crappy air quality. The reason environmentalism is not making headway in the US is largely because of its successes. For example: aqmd.gov The cost of the cigarette liability has been determined by lawsuit and is now being passed on to the consumers (addicts). The liabilities you want to extend this model to (i.e. nuclear power generated electricity) are not determined and therefore cannot be passed on to anyone. Earlier, I thought by "unfunded liability" you meant the idea of passing on to the consumer the financial liability for an unknown amount. But with your comment on cigarettes, I'm now guessing that instead you want to pass on to the consumer a known amount. The problem is that you have no way of determining that amount. On the other hand, it is fairly easy to determine how much it costs the government to subsidize wind power, and yes, I agree that those costs should be borne by the consumer. -- Carl

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