A plan to save the world from global warming can coincidentally be good for the economy. Increased environmental regulation can accomplish this. Government enforcement agencies will pay for themselves as they collect taxes over violated rules, and extra taxes can be spent on clean-up issues or on other needed things. Best of all, small businesses can thrive under rules that ensure ethical practices. Thus, the United States can reduce greenhouse gases while promoting the economy.
Regulation doesn’t have to strangle business, nor endanger freedom. Sure, overregulation can be burdensome – but with technology, regulation can be streamlined. Also, the costs of regulation are minimal compared to the costs of not regulating. One obvious example is Ford. Had we had air regulation measures in place, perhaps Ford wouldn’t have taken a nose dive. Now, we have to pay plenty of costs, ranging from added environmental damage to unemployed Americans.
Many people seem to think that regulation hurts our freedom. Yet that’s hardly the case. Regulation for businesses is like laws for people; if it can hurt someone else, we can’t do it. Businesses shouldn’t be allowed to pollute our water, or foul our air. It’s just not fair to the rest of us – just like it’s not legal for someone to pour battery acid on your garden. Regulation, used properly, enhances our ability to pursue happiness by keeping our lives clean.
The taxes generated by polluters can fuel the economy by funding clean-up organizations (public or private). Thus, all the money from the taxes goes straight back into our American hands, no matter how you put it. It goes to Americans that are cleaning up their communities while being paid decent wages. Small groups of people could apply for the funds, so new small businesses will grow like flowers, forgive the cliché.
We don’t have to choose between the economy and the environment. Regulation for businesses can protect the environment, the economy, and our freedom.