Tim. Nice but...
“We should tax negative externalities” - Tim
Apply morals to an immoral system. Good start.
“and what we're trying to do is maximise the welfare of everyone, current and future.” - Tim
Is it really? I thought it was to maximise and maintain the profit motive and human exploitation under this anti-human system. For the facts that make it “anti-human” check out http://www.realityinfo.org.
Any form of “well crafted” hinted at in the following quote will only be judged in a bottom line somewhere: in profit. Which, as stated before, is anti-human.
“mockery of well crafted economics” - Tim
The best hope I can take from your article, with regards your understanding of humanity and the future direction, would be
“There's even the vague possibility that the adults will take over at some point and we'll end up with something that actually works: “ - Tim
Pitty you messed it up with the bit after the colon
“a simple carbon tax or a simple cap and trade scheme.” - Tim
Did you ever stop to think, even just for a second, that the current paradigm is just not working?
Enlightened human to human interaction awaits you Tim: come and join us thinking folks :)