Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by dontbeevil1992 2011 days ago
you and me are not a multinational billion dollar for-profit corporation. we have different capabilities, incentives, and externalities to our behavior. nestle is taking advantage of the commons for massive profit, they should contribute back
2 comments
ahepp 2011 days ago
To say they are "taking advantage of the commons" implies they're leaving the commons worse off. I haven't heard any good arguments that this is the case. Particularly because the amount of water they're pumping really isn't that significant compared to agricultural or industrial users.

They do contribute back through taxes, including income tax their employees pay directly to the state of Michigan. If they aren't paying enough, I think reforming corporate taxation is a better solution than arbitrarily taxing extraction of a plentiful resource out of dislike for the extractors. Hopefully that doesn't make me some kind of anarcho-capitalist nut.

link
dontbeevil1992 2010 days ago
> To say they are "taking advantage of the commons" implies they're leaving the commons worse off

I don't agree. All it means is that they're benefiting privately from something that belongs to everyone. This is particularly glaring in this case because Nestle has a history of unethical behavior - for example, there is a plausible argument that one of the reasons why the Flint lead problem hasn't been fixed is because of profits on bottled water. Taxation is not a perfect solution because the government doesn't always use the funds ethically, particularly when it is in bed with corporations. But it's better than nothing.

> The amount of water they're pumping really isn't that significant compared to agricultural or industrial users.

Then why not have them pay a use fee that is proportionally small compared to agricultural and industrial users? If we don't charge them at all then logically why can't they just go ahead and privatize the entire water supply for the cost of $200? Natural resources shouldn't be made arbitrarily available for private profit.

link
mr_woozy 2011 days ago
>you and me are not a multinational billion dollar for-profit corporation.

ahhhh my sweet summer child........

link