Free Market
May 01, 2008 | 10:14 AM

"The free market will burn every ounce of oil and then collapse."

I agree with a lot of what Card says in this article, but his insistence that government is the only solution and the free market is incapable of solving the problem is a little weird. Our supply of oil is not going to suddenly disappear, but will gradually be used over time. As that happens, the price of it will increase and as this happens, it will provide the opportunity for companies to make money on alternatives to oil. It's already starting to happen with hybrid and electric cars and it's totally obvious that as the price of oil increases and demand falls, companies will continue to innovate and introduce new methods that will gradually supplant the need for oil. If there is money to be made (and there will be), the free market is more than capable of solving the problem.

I assume OSC disagrees with me, but I would curious to know why rather than seeing him state that it is "hogwash" with no justification.

Bryan