
Milton Friedman on the free-market case for taxing pollution
About this video
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.
Why it appears in the archive
HN commenters use it to show that even the best-known free-market economist supported putting a price on pollution.
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From the Hacker News discussion
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: [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗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: * [VIDEO] Greenspan, Volcker, Bernanke, Yellen, etc , also endorsed a price on carbon (which revenue would be refunded to people): * [LINK]
Read original comment ↗> 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: * [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗