With 88 percent of the EU's fish stocks over-fished, diminishing fuel supplies, and its Kyoto emission targets looking unlikely ever to be met, what is the response of the EU Commission? Raise fuel subsidies to the fishing industry of course. You can read about it here. Also today's news gives more details of UK government bailout of Northern Rock, which currently owes UK taxpayers will stand to lose up to £17.5 billion.
There's a perverse logic to these perverse subsidies. Once you've started dishing out subsidies, it's very difficult to stop. The effect of the subsidies is to swell the power of the recipients to oppose any reduction in their subsidies. It's a corrupt, insane way of running things from the point of view of society as a whole. But who has that point of view any more?
No comments:
Post a Comment