Randal O'Toole/liberatarian resource management/urban planning

Chuck Grimes cgrimes at rawbw.com
Wed Sep 5 23:04:01 PDT 2001


I don't like incentibe based resource management as far as I understand it. It has an underlying assumption that most people earn about the same middle class income and will allocate their money based on their needs and willingness to sacrifice. But in reality, if we were to set up roads and transportation based on tolls, then that would clear up the toll lanes for the wealthy Ford expedition drivers who hardly flinch at the cost, meanwhile when they scrap the subways and buses (he criticizes Portland heavily for its rail system), the poor people can't get to work and everyone else ends up stewing in traffic. They say that suburban shopping strips and street grids represent the free-market chosen design that everyone has collectively chosen, because it would not be logical for mall builders to use designs that are anything other than the optimum that makes their customers the happiest. The Thoreau institute emphasizes 'the government that governs best, governs least', but I really focus more on the fact that he shirked work. Anyway, they're getting into urban planning on Dec. 6 and it seems like there is an invitation to some members of the public. I would like to see someone who knows urban planning take up the debate: http://www.teleport.com/~rot/urban.html

Christine

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Some random, hostile, probably not helpful thoughts.

These are scum. We all know it, so kill them all. Fuck debate. If O'Toole didn't like Portland, then send his scarfy ass to Fresno--my vote for the ugliest small city in the central valley---maybe its a toss with Bakersfield. The US Park Service and Cal State forest service are complete pigs, ditto with fish and game. Even the liberal sounding conservation types on list look pretty weak.

About the only thing I would think about doing would be to look up the Native American student/faculty organization on campus and see what they have to say. Most of these so-called resources were theirs once and they have some axes to grind. Reparations is a alternate resource management solution I bet they haven't considered.

Chuck Grimes



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