On March 24, David Wallace kindly took up the challenge to refute the eight damaging assertions I have proposed with some terrific rebuttals. Here are some of the rebuttals I have been developing. All comments welcome. Address the need for ecological budget reform to refute the free market assertion that the best way to protect the environment is to let the market operate freely. The freedom of the market to grow unremittingly, without regard to the environment or society, is unsustainable.
Markets have to reflect the full cost of goods and services.
Market principles must change so that resources are available on a sustainable basis. This generation's use of resources should not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Government, as the legitimate democratic voice of the citizenry, must intervene in the economy to ensure that the market reflects the real costs of goods and services. This can be done through the ecological reform of fiscal planning. The government's budget is its key statement of environmental and sustainability policy.