"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
ink.net...
I've seen very good estimates that by getting the EPA and their
political
hacks out of it, the cost of cleaning up and keeping the environment
CLEANER
would be about one-sixth the present cost.

I agree (don't know about one sixth though), but the problem is that
SOMEONE
has to bear the cost to pollute less and NOBODY wants to do it.



It almost
has to be the federal government setting the rules. Or you could let me
do
it. I would just pick the areas where I could reduce pollution at the
lowerst cost.

How about a pollution-controller version of Underwriters Labratories?

How about the market in general?



I notice, too, that most states/cities that have emmissions checks on
vehicles cleaverly exempt the worst pollutors. A UColorado/Denver study
in
1995 showed that over 80% of pollution (in the Denver area) was caused
by
about 10% of vehicles, but under Colorado law, those 10% were largely
exempt).

I agree completely. I asked Willie Brown once why people with ****ty cars
had a right to poisen everybody and he really didn't have a good answer.

I stand by my earlier assertion that these aren't the major reasons why
jobs
go offshore.

It's not THE major reason (it's IS the reason US industry can't compete),
the major reason being the high cost of unskilled labor.


I also think that we have to question your numbers particulaly
the $800B one. There are less than 100MM tax returns representing ~$4.5T
in
taxable income filed in the US each year. I find it hard to believe that
$8,000 per family or over 15%$ of personal income is spent complying with
various regulations.

Believe it. (Why does it require two incomes to live as well as it did just
a couple generations ago...and don't confuse toys with REAL COSTS of
living).

$800B spread over 280M people is about $2400 per person, but it hits higher
if what you buy comes out of manufacturing (more so than services). The cost
of regulation adds 50 cents to a gallon of gas, for instance, about $25-50K
to the price of a house, about 25% to a grocery bill...

If I am looking to hire 1000 software engineers and they will cost ~100MM
a
year in the US and ~20MM in India it really doesn't matter much what
additional regulations there are in the US.

So, why are the Indian SE's 1/5th the price?

BTW There have recently been articles in the Indian press bemoaning the
loss
of manufacturing jobs to Vietnam!

What skill levels on those jobs? BTW, in working for several years with
several eastern Indian SE's, I find that (once past their heavy accents)
they can read, write, and calculate MUCH better than their American
counterparts. Much the same with lesser skill levels -- an American with a
college degree is about as literate (reading comprehension, for instance)
than an EI with just elementary school education.