My preferred brand of espresso is available in steel cans with plastic tops, or in those vacuum-sealed aluminum "bricks." Both are 10 ounces (283 grams). Every now and then, presumably for inventory reasons, one or the other will be offered for about 35% off. Now, being a scary non-White soshulist librul, I prefer the bricks as less resource-intensive and less polluting. But I have sympathy for the "hey, cheaper's cheaper" point of view. But it got me to thinking. . .
What is the proper role of government in this? Government takes people's money by coercion (taxes), and spends it on research and programs to reduce resource use and pollution. It also uses its coercive power (lawmaking) to require people in some cases to spend more to accomplish the same thing, for the purpose of compelling the use of less-polluting, less resource-intensive means.
Is this practice right, wrong, or sometimes right or wrong? Is there any set of standards by which this should be done, aside from "my guy is doing it?"
What is the proper role of government in this? Government takes people's money by coercion (taxes), and spends it on research and programs to reduce resource use and pollution. It also uses its coercive power (lawmaking) to require people in some cases to spend more to accomplish the same thing, for the purpose of compelling the use of less-polluting, less resource-intensive means.
Is this practice right, wrong, or sometimes right or wrong? Is there any set of standards by which this should be done, aside from "my guy is doing it?"
