Apparently economic wealth comes from doing things the expensive way
To add to why we’ve no productivity growth:
The UK could end its reliance on exporting plastic waste by 2030 to support the creation of 5,400 new jobs and take responsibility for the environmental impact of its waste, according to research.
The report said up to 15 new recycling facilities could be built by the end of the decade, attracting more than £800m of private investment. The increase in capacity would help generate almost £900m of economic value every year, providing at least £100m in new tax revenues annually.
The crucial line here:
Campaigners want the closure of the loophole that makes it cheaper to export plastic waste rather than recycle it in the UK.
So shipping the waste off is cheaper. In order to stop doing the cheaper thing we should add those 5,400 costs to the economy and expend darn near a £bilion of capital to…..make it more expensive?
This is abject nonsense. Obviously. Productivity rises the greater the - positive - gap between costs and value of output. Demanding that we increase the gap in a negative direction - more costs, same value of dealing with waste - is to make us all poorer.
Please do note, we’re not in fact arguing that not dealing with plastic waste is a good idea. Even though we do indeed think that holes in the ground exist for good reason. Nor are we arguing that recycling is necessarily a bad idea - although as some of us have actually done this as a business line we’d insist that a lot of what is done is indeed a bad idea.
No, the complaint here is about the form of argumentation. This plan is being shopped, marketed, as being a good thing because it increases the costs of what is to be done. Jobs are a cost, investment is a cost - it is the value of the output of either that is the benefit. They really are saying we’d all be better off by doing it the expensive way - and solely because that is the expensive way.
No wonder we’re in an economic pickle if public policy is being driven by those who insist it’s a good idea if we all become poorer.
Tim Worstall