Treason Against the Planet or Treason Against the Economy?
Nicolas Loris /
After the Waxman-Markey cap and trade bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives (219-212), Nobel Laureate economist Paul Krugman, an avid supporter of global warming legislation, expressed his discontent. His concern was not with the bill but those who voted against it. In his New York Times column Krugman says,
“And as I watched the deniers make their arguments, I couldn’t help thinking that I was watching a form of treason — treason against the planet.”
Another economist, Don Boudreaux, who is the Chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason University, responded to Krugman in his usual style – a letter to the editor. Boudreaux responds,
“Paul Krugman asserts that those of us who oppose government regulation to deal with climate change are committing “treason against the planet” (“Betraying the Planet,” June 29).
It’s more accurate to say that Mr. Krugman is committing treason against reasoned debate. One of the most compelling arguments against climate-change regulation is not that global warming isn’t occurring but, rather, that the dangers of further regulation far outweigh its likely benefits. Government regulation inevitably is a political animal; it’s never guided purely, or even largely, by disinterested science.