Jonathan H. Adler

Although the “polluter pays” principle—which requires polluters to pay for damages caused by their harmful waste products—is valid, it rarely achieves the desired effect of reducing pollution, contends Jonathan H. Adler in the following viewpoint. Many of the fines imposed on polluters are due to violations of complex rules and not because of illegal emissions, he maintains. Furthermore, the notion of imposing taxes on pollution would serve only to generate revenue for the government and do little to compensate those who are harmed by the pollution. The “polluter pays” principle can be effective if it is reformed so that victims are compensated by polluters for the damages caused by pollution, Adler argues. Adler is the director of environmental studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute...