Honestly, in times like these, it's so good to see someone talk about what government is good at. All we hear is the opposite, especially with things like TPP coming towards us. It's as if we've forgotten what government does. Yours are great examples.
Is it really the government doing something though, or failing to do something (control water prices)? What would go wrong with a free water market? Sure some types of user that are currently subsidised wouldn't be able to survive but they probably should be in a more water rich location for overall greater efficiency.
Poor choice of word "survive" there. I meant economically survive in high-priced-water areas such as what California might be if it had a free water market. I agree with you that people a willing and should pay more for luxuries like lawns in the desert.
For drinking, you won't be living there in the first place if you can't afford the water bill, so nobody's going to die of thirst. That, and drinking water is a negligible proportion of water that people use domestically overall.
> For drinking, you won't be living there in the first place if you can't afford the water bill, so nobody's going to die of thirst.
That's the problem. Millions of people are already living in places where water is scarce / becoming scarce. This would call for a mass exodus from the desert, an infeasibility for almost all and the communities they belong to. Workers would abandon local economies and have to enter ones that most likely have no room for them.
Chances are that the people that will need to abandon their homes do not have the economic means to do so nor have the skills to enter a new market and find work.
> That, and drinking water is a negligible proportion of water that people use domestically overall.
People need to bathe and wash their clothing / dishware as well.
> I agree with you that people a willing and should pay more for luxuries like lawns in the desert.
Ideally, that wouldn't be an option because regulations would be set to prevent excess waste of a vital resource.
I hope we get to limiting co2 emissions soon.
I hope we get a gradual tax on gas and push that back into infrastructure.