Milton Friedman, an economist, wrote an op-ed for the NYTimes in 1970 titled “The Friedman Doctrine,” stating that the responsibility of a business is to maximize profits for the shareholder. Fifty years later, the stakeholders suffer, but the stockholders do not. We are all living on both sides of the fence. Have we reached a point where we have to compromise a bit more?
Oil companies have known since the 1950s that burning fossil fuels affects climate change. The government has known, too, but the gravy train lobbyists and the ability to stay in power is fierce. Citizens United, passed by the Supreme Court in 2010, amplified the money train.
We witnessed this with tobacco and companies that were polluting our waters in the surrounding areas of their plants, alcohol has held on, and of course, there is the pharma awfulness with oxi. We are about to witness the same hullabaloo with energy companies. History repeats itself.
Last week, Hochul signed into law the second-in-the-nation Climate Change Superfund Act, the second state to do this, with Vermont being the first. This act demands compensation from the responsibile companies at specific times. If this act is followed to the exact law, then NYS would be paid $75B over 25 years, directly going to rebuilding the damage such as wetlands restoration, drain system upgrades, energy efficiency for buildings, public health education and certainly more.
I applaud this law, and it is about time. With NY passing this bill, expect to see California next. This is just the beginning.
