The Post-Tribune has an editorial entitled “Daniels turning IDEM into a rubber stamp.” It is prompted by Gov. Daniels hiring of longtime coal industry lobbyist David Joest as the new attorney for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Says the Post Tribune:
First, Daniels is applying the lessons he learned from his mentor, George W. Bush, who regularly made Department of Interior appointments from a roster of pollution industry lobbyists.
Second, Daniels is systematically turning IDEM into a rubber stamp for industry, operating under the archaic and disproven belief that jobs are solely important and environment is solely not important.
One of the main problems with not enforcing environmental standards (aside from, you know, the degraded environment) is that failing to enforce such standards causes the market to send the wrong signals. Pollution is a cost of manufacturing. But, when environmental standards are not enforced, it is a cost that is not reflected in the price of the product. Where price does not reflect costs, the marketplace is not operating at its most rational. With coal pollution, for example, the breathers of polluted air and the drinkers of polluted water and the travelers through a despoiled countryside are, in effect, subsidizing the manufacturers and purchasers of coal-produced energy. Subsidies are sometimes necessary for other reasons, but generally speaking, they aren’t good business.
Don’t free-marker guys hate subsidies? Sounds like libertarians should be at the front lines for environmental regulation, in interest of the pure free market!
Good stuff, Doug!
Jason, if the “markers” are free, they were probably subsidized! ;-)
Doug’s comments are completely consistent with Libertarian philosophy. In practice, Libs would still caution about govt reg as it plays out in reality– for example, in Louisville, a vehicle emissions testing program that imposed economic costs while ironically increasing auto pollution.
The IDEM has no moral right to exist, but lacking the political will to remove it, emasculating it is the next-best option.
Yes, Eric, I saw that one RIGHT after I hit “submit”. :)
Realize that to the victor goes the spoils but the Daniels administration has taken to new heights. Example new super of education has put a whole group of former employees in other agencies into the top of the education department. Wiped out entire sections and heads of sections replaced with “administrators” from whereever (people “displaced/fired” were from education replaced with from whereever”). So bringing in an advocate for that which is being watched over should prove interesting.
Daniels is doing this sort of thing all over state government. He doesn’t have the b*lls or the authority to do away with any agencies whose mission he doesn’t agree with, nor does he even have the guts to be honest with the public about his intentions. Therefore, Daniels and his minions staff agencies he wishes he could get rid of with people who wreak havoc and sabotage the agencies from within.