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i am genuinely curious: does Ballmer thinks comments like these benefit Microsoft?
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"Lately I’ve seen this idea in several places, that governments should intervene to ensure that gasoline (or coal etc.) stays above a certain price — $4.00 per gallon of gasoline, for instance — so that consumers, entrepreneurs, utility companies, auto makers et al. will know that they can never expect a return of lower fuel prices, and therefore ought to turn their efforts to conservation, alternative energy sources, and so on. Whether the idea should be pursued, I don’t know." – that depends on what the goal is. if it is to compel real, fundamental change in our consumption habits – at any cost – then yes. if it's to continue pulling the band-aid off slowly, then no.
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links for 2008-11-07
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Tim Walker says:
November 7, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Stephen, I take your point about pulling off the band-aid slowly, but I guess my question centers more on political viability than on the potential efficacy of a gasoline-price floor.
Considering the ease with which candidates for office fanned up a blaze of populist political hysteria when gas went to $4/gallon, I’m wondering what combination of circumstances would lead Congress to enact such a price floor.
Meanwhile, I’m confident you know more about the policy options than I do (you’d almost have to, given how little I know!). What other proposals are worth looking at, do you think?