I agree that government mandates may not always be a good solution, however I also believe that government is uniquely positioned to do certain things that the free market (when left to it's own devices) won't do on it's own. This includes protecting the powerless, and encouraging forward-thinking behaviors when they don't yet make economic sense... Of course, reasonable people will (DO) differ on what "certain things" the govt. ought to do... :^) But, if govt. subsidized alternative energy research to the same tune that it does traditional energy, I believe we'd be much further along today. More power to Calif. - my old home state and, while sometimes ridiculed, nonetheless often a trendsetter in these matters. I wonder if subsidies are more effective than regulations (i.e. the carrot vs. the stick)? On Dec 12, 2006, at 4:10 PM, Mbachandz aol com wrote:
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