I just read an article in the Wasington Post about the extension of an oil pipeline to the Gulf Coast. I believe that Global Warming is a threat and I was alarmed by the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, so normally I would be skeptical about this project. However the urgent need for jobs in this economy has me paying close attention to this debate.
Trade-offs make many economic decisions difficult. It is easy to sit back and negate a project that is potentially harmful when the economy is growing briskly and unemployment is low. Yet do we want to ruin the climate and dirty the envirnment in the name of prosperity? Is there a reasonable adjustment that might mitigate the negative externalities of this project? Should this venture be postponed until technology is dicovered that will prevent negative spillovers? Oh, that's right, I have a job. In fact my entire nuclear family is employed.
Choices are liberating until we get to these important trade-offs. Then they become a burden. What a burden for our chief executive to take on himself. It is amazing to me that so many people wish to take up these kinds of burdens.
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