More about water

[Post for Tuesday, February 3, 2009]

So I proposed, sort of, a free market solution to water issues. And I know all you granola pounding sun eaters are rolling your eyes. Knowing the true cost of water is right! Paying for a good based on scarcity and use is right! Being aware is Right! However being right is not always right when you share a government with others. The main crux of government is agreed management of specific duties. Now I can scream until I turn red that the specific duties are neither specific or few but the reality is that government is there and we have to work to a mutual goal.

My solution to water

Privatize water companies! Yup! All your public water works go private! All you hippy, yuppy, guppy, and emo folks learn the true cost of water. You also get to develop a sense of what a price index is based on a scarce resource. You'll learn to conserve more, thus saving water for what you truly need and not what is fun.

However, I believe in enlightenment. That knowledge is power and that all citizens should be enlightened. I see one positive role the government can play. Pull back on all the government oversight and agencies and just have one office in the Texas land management agency. Let the role be that of a monthly report on water levels in the regions, water quality in the regions, testing of water quality of all the companies, and a suggested per gallon price. And let that all be reported on the evening news.

That should be enough to keep every dishonest business person on the straight and narrow. And validate all the good business people that being honest is a positive thing. It also reduces collusion between companies to price fix. And lets people know exactly why they are getting charged more/less for water and what an average price they should pay.

Now this is all a loose and simplistic idea on how to solve our water issues down here in Texas. Beats doing the same old thing to the same old problem and expecting something new.