Friday, May 15, 2009

Busting the Myth of Green Jobs

9 comments:

Douglas Porter said...

Ad populum argument from authority. Very sad.

Argument from present knowledge that a green economy can not exist, which is absurd.

Josh said...

Saying that people will become richer in a greener economy forced on them leads to the conclusion that people are too stupid to do it themselves to make more money is also absurd.

Josh said...

of course, they weren't saying a green economy couldn't exist, they were just saying we should be honest that it will be a less prosperous economy.

Douglas Porter said...

You don't know if it will be more prosperous or not, because it hasn't occurred yet. DUH.

Also, your and Paul's (that guy in the video) argument that a green economy will destroy jobs is a GREAT argument against free trade. Free trade will not make us more prosperous. It will destroy jobs by shipping them overseas.

Josh said...

"You don't know if it will be more prosperous or not, because it hasn't occurred yet. DUH."

This is the problem. If it could generate more wealth PEOPLE WOULD ALREADY DO IT BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT DUMB.

This post is not about free-trade. When I feel more prepared to talk about free-trade from a perspective other than the fact that individuals should have the right to trade freely with who they want, when I have an economic argument solidified, I will post it.

Douglas Porter said...

"This is the problem. If it could generate more wealth PEOPLE WOULD ALREADY DO IT BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT DUMB."

It has nothing to do with dumb or smart. It has to do with the fact that it hasn't been done yet, and therefore can not be known about. The is comparable to computers before they were personalized. There were people who said it would never be done, because it would never be profitable, but look at all the PCs today!

"This post is not about free-trade. When I feel more prepared to talk about free-trade from a perspective other than the fact that individuals should have the right to trade freely with who they want, when I have an economic argument solidified, I will post it."

Yes, actually it is, because your friend in the video makes the same kind of argument that left wingers made against free trade back in the 1980s. HE IS A HYPOCRITE>

Josh said...

"It has nothing to do with dumb or smart. It has to do with the fact that it hasn't been done yet, and therefore can not be known about. The is comparable to computers before they were personalized. There were people who said it would never be done, because it would never be profitable, but look at all the PCs today!"

YES! A market was built for personal computers. Someone who earned their own capital, invested it wisely, accepted some risk, and turned a profit! The complete opposite of ANYTHING the government does.

This would occur with green technologies as well, but forcing it to happen when there does not exist a market will mis-direct resources from profitable sectors of the economy and slow our economic growth. We need to be honest about it.

Douglas Porter said...

"YES! A market was built for personal computers. Someone who earned their own capital, invested it wisely, accepted some risk, and turned a profit! The complete opposite of ANYTHING the government does."

Again, my point stands. The person rambling in that video is an idiot.

"This would occur with green technologies as well, but forcing it to happen when there does not exist a market will mis-direct resources from profitable sectors of the economy and slow our economic growth. We need to be honest about it."

Sorry, there was tons of government development in computer technology before the market made computer profitable and there are many examples of this. For example, some dickweeds want to privatize the roads system.

Josh said...

"Sorry, there was tons of government development in computer technology before the market made computer profitable and there are many examples of this. For example, some dickweeds want to privatize the roads system."

This statement assumes computer development would not have occurred without government. And also, your attempt to show that government assists in innovation indicates you believe that "the government" exists, only you point out its positives and I point out its negatives.

I'm not sure roads should be privatized. The highway system is important for national defense. I do not believe the federal government needs to regulate every foot of pavement that's laid though.