Milton Friedman on the free-market case for taxing pollution
republicEnCited 3× on HN, 2022–2026
interview · general · evergreen · 2022–2026 on HN
A two-minute clip from a 1979 Phil Donahue interview in which Milton Friedman makes the free-market case for taxing pollution. He treats pollution as an externality that can be given a price.
HN commenters use it to show that even the best-known free-market economist supported putting a price on pollution.
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3 comments from Hacker News
> Agreed. The market should decide if beef consumption is viable. Until The Market™, especially in the US, starts dealing with externalities (like climate change), it should not. Something like carbon pricing (per Greenspan and Volcker): * link * link Even Mr. Free Market himself, Milton Friedman, thought a price on pollution was a good idea: * ▶ this video
Even Mr. Free Market™ himself, Milton Friedman, didn't have a problem with putting a price on pollution as it is a form of externality: * ▶ this video Greenspan, Volcker, Bernanke, Yellen, etc , also endorsed a price on carbon (which revenue would be refunded to people): * link
AFAIK, Mises.org is generally well regarded among libertarians. Libertarians generally argue that externalities should either be illegal or taxed, when there are no other practical solutions. Here's a video of Milton Friedman on the topic: ▶ this video