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Browsing through our usual websites we were delighted to find yet another mind blowing and blatant example of government idiocy and stupidity. These people are making our work all too easy! It’s like shooting whales tagged with GPS trackers using 100 Megaton Hydrogen Bombs: fun and illuminating. This time the great screw-up happened in Canada where the government spent about 1 Giga dollars for two electricity generating plants that never were. The most expensive electricity money can’t buy.

A few years back the government gave the OK to build two monstrous electric plans in the province of Ontario, right in the middle of two of the most densely populated cities.  The idea was to replace one medium size coal burning plant with two monstrous size natural gas burning plants. This according to the Canadian newspaper Financial Post in the article titled “Ontario’s Power Trip: Auditor General confirms $1-billion power plant boondoggle”.  

Pollution, you see? We were told it was bad.

The funny thing is that about 50% of the pollution in those cities comes from US and there is nothing they can do about this. Or the fact that the two plants would probably be equally polluting than the one that was closing. Or the fact that both plants were to be located in even worst places than the closing one. Or the fact that in that area, they actually have electrical surplus and two of the biggest electricity generating companies are going broke due to this. Or the fact that the government went crazy with “green” power subsidizing wind and solar over “only” ½ to 6 times the standard electrical price (that’s right, 50% to 600%!!!). Or the fact that in order to accommodate new “green” power (which happens to come on-line whenever it feels like it), the nuclear generating plant is going up and down like a yo-yo. Or the fact that despite of the surplus, electricity bills keep rising because of government’s fix price contracts (.to the tune of an equivalent 200% tax increase just this year). Or the fact that all government levels (provincial and regional) and both regulators gave the OK, except, that is, the municipality which was overruled.

After a fierce Public Relations campaign that threatened to create a political firestorm, plans for both plants were quietly shelved and, oh, some fines were paid. Never mind.

Now we know that those “fines” reached about 1 Giga dollars.

Oh, how Democracy and politicians screw-up!

They OK’d two polluting plants in the middle of two large cities and overruled the citizens living in those cities. They pushed for the plats to be built, even though they are not necessary and won’t be necessary for the foreseeable future. They instigated an ultra-expensive green energy program that is causing nothing but headaches and steadily rising electrical bills. WOW! That truly is mind shattering!

As we have said before in many occasions: everybody can screw-up, but to screw-up on a massive scale, you need an organized government. Only organized stupidity can create messes of this magnitude.

Of course, being Absolute Austro-Libertarians, the question that looms is obvious: what would have happened in our system?

Electricity is a long-term proposition. Companies don’t spend hundredths of millions on the off-chance that electricity may be required somewhere at some point in the future. They plan and execute carefully. However, considering that the biggest electrical consumers are companies, a great deal of consumption forecasting depends on economic forecasts. In our system, economic growth is highly stable and forecastable (unlike these wonderful Democracies with their Central Banks and their fractional reserve system where economies go up and down more than the elevators in the Eiffel tower).

Therefore, the need for electricity would have been accurately forecasted decades in advance. Just what energy companies need. Plants would be build slowly but on schedule. Electrical supply would be more or less constant satisfying demands. Electrical bills would be reasonable.

And as a bonus, R&D in solar and wind would have been increased substantially to try to make them economically viable. Unlike now, that subsidies have pretty much killed R&D. Why do R&D if the taxpayers will pay ridiculous prices for obsolete and non-viable technology?

But we digress. Let’s go back to topic. In the Absolute Austro-Libertarian system electrical supply will balance demand just nicely. 

But what about pollution? Well, plant owners would have purchased the land where the plants would be build. Once they owned those locations, there would be no way to stop their construction. Would this mean that citizens would be forever doomed to breathe pollution? No. There is a catch. There is always a catch. Remember we told you that our system is balanced? Well… it is.

Yes, plant owners would have been able to build the plants in the middle of the city. However, they would be polluting other people’s air. This means, they would be causing massive damage to other people’s property. Which would have made them fully liable. Which would have forced them to pay far more than any profit they may have hoped to make.

Companies are not stupid. They would have considered all this in advance and would have built the plants far, far away from populated areas with top clean burning system to ensure minimum pollution.

The problem would have been solved even before it would have begun.

Again, ecology by greed. Greed works. Greed purifies. But only in the Absolute Austro-Libertarian system.

You surprised yet? Hopefully not. Think Absolute Austro-Libertarian or pay high bills. As usual, it is your choice.

Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.

 

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