Comments on: Caroline Lucas speaks out! http://timworstall.com/2009/07/14/caroline-lucas-speaks-out/ It is all obvious or trivial except... Fri, 25 May 2012 13:11:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Mark Wadsworth http://timworstall.com/2009/07/14/caroline-lucas-speaks-out/comment-page-1/#comment-32089 Mark Wadsworth Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:53:17 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=8580#comment-32089 Re Severn Barrage, it depends on whom you mean by "we". AFAIAC, the government shouldn't spend a penny on this - what they should do is auction off the licence to build it, whoever offers most, builds it and keeps the profits if they calculated correctly and loses everything if they calculated wrong. If no private company is prepared to pay a positive sum, then it doesn't get built, problem solved. Re Severn Barrage, it depends on whom you mean by “we”. AFAIAC, the government shouldn’t spend a penny on this – what they should do is auction off the licence to build it, whoever offers most, builds it and keeps the profits if they calculated correctly and loses everything if they calculated wrong.

If no private company is prepared to pay a positive sum, then it doesn’t get built, problem solved.

]]> By: Pat http://timworstall.com/2009/07/14/caroline-lucas-speaks-out/comment-page-1/#comment-32087 Pat Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:22:52 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=8580#comment-32087 Seems very unlikely that a car park on the location of a rural church would have any value at all- who would pay to park there? and it would definitely have a cost- to construct. However it seems to me that if the people (presumably but not necessarily acting through their elected representatives) wanted a building kept and maintained, whether as a place of worship, an architectural feature, or a historic monument (or all three) they should pony up the necessary to make the car park uneconomic on any cost benefit analysis, one way or another. If no-one is prepared to do that then the people don't want the church much- even if they find it fashionable to say that they do. Using cost benefit analysis would lead a developer to build in the plot next door, thus giving best value overall. Seems very unlikely that a car park on the location of a rural church would have any value at all- who would pay to park there? and it would definitely have a cost- to construct. However it seems to me that if the people (presumably but not necessarily acting through their elected representatives) wanted a building kept and maintained, whether as a place of worship, an architectural feature, or a historic monument (or all three) they should pony up the necessary to make the car park uneconomic on any cost benefit analysis, one way or another. If no-one is prepared to do that then the people don’t want the church much- even if they find it fashionable to say that they do.
Using cost benefit analysis would lead a developer to build in the plot next door, thus giving best value overall.

]]> By: Luis Enrique http://timworstall.com/2009/07/14/caroline-lucas-speaks-out/comment-page-1/#comment-32053 Luis Enrique Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:56:35 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=8580#comment-32053 Newmania, what sort of cost-benefit analysis would tell you that car parks are worth more than Early Saxon Churches? If cost-benefit analysis as knuckle-headed as that, then I'm with you. If cost-benefit analysis is flexible enough to handle "things of value based on more than their market revenue generating capacity", then I'm not. I don't actually know anything about the reality of cost-benefit analysis, so perhaps it really is knuckle-headed ... can anybody enlighten me? (although someone's going to pop up and tell me that unless something is priced by the voluntary exchange in a market, it cannot have a value. I can just feel it) Newmania,

what sort of cost-benefit analysis would tell you that car parks are worth more than Early Saxon Churches? If cost-benefit analysis as knuckle-headed as that, then I’m with you. If cost-benefit analysis is flexible enough to handle “things of value based on more than their market revenue generating capacity”, then I’m not. I don’t actually know anything about the reality of cost-benefit analysis, so perhaps it really is knuckle-headed … can anybody enlighten me?

(although someone’s going to pop up and tell me that unless something is priced by the voluntary exchange in a market, it cannot have a value. I can just feel it)

]]> By: Newmania http://timworstall.com/2009/07/14/caroline-lucas-speaks-out/comment-page-1/#comment-32046 Newmania Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:08:51 +0000 http://timworstall.com/?p=8580#comment-32046 Bollocks bollocks bollocks .You may wish to covert every early Saxon Church in Sussex into a Car park on a cost analysis basis ; I do not . Whilst I loathe Caroline Lucas, 'cost' is not the only issue ever ,and this shows why scientific and economic problems should never be left to scienists or economists If they were left to those with degrees in English Literature that would suit me fine. :) Bollocks bollocks bollocks .You may wish to covert every early Saxon Church in Sussex into a Car park on a cost analysis basis ; I do not .
Whilst I loathe Caroline Lucas, ‘cost’ is not the only issue ever ,and this shows why scientific and economic problems should never be left to scienists or economists
If they were left to those with degrees in English Literature that would suit me fine. :)

]]>