41 sats \ 13 replies \ @Undisciplined 25 Jun \ on: Water shortage to affect India's sovereign credit strength: Moody's econ
We have issues in the arid western states, where aquafers are drying up and much of the available fresh water is sent to California.
I've been expecting water to become one of the major commodity markets in the near future. Many aquafers around the world are being drained and desalination is too expensive to keep treating fresh water as though it's abundant.
The world needs markets in water, but people are going to resist the idea of commodifying it.
I don't think that world really needs markets in water as of now. You can say I'm one of the resistants.
Water actually needs a proper distribution or people need to relocate near the abundance of water, as they used to do in ancient times.
How can water resources of any place sustain when more than 120 million people living with a density of nearly 30000 people every square mile.
India, as I can see still has a lot of fresh water resources. Thanks to the great Himalyas. ...
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Water actually needs a proper distribution
That's why it needs a free market. There's no better distribution system.
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I don't mean it from the PoV of selling it. It should be distributed as free.
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Price controls cause shortages. I'm all for charity, but charity is not sufficient for the entire distribution.
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For water, it's a 'nah!'
Water is a human right. It needs to be managed as a common good. Considering water as a commodity or a business opportunity will leave behind those that cannot access or afford the market prices.
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"Human right" isn't a magic spell that causes distribution. Centrally planned distribution will be more costly and lower quality. Also, absent a profit motive, there won't be any innovation in this space.
The sectors that work the best have market mechanisms. Why wouldn't you want that for the most important things?
For example, food is commodified and it gets where it's needed and the productivity of agriculture goes up every year.
If you said food needs to be free and centrally planned, because it's a human right, there would be mass starvation.
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Water is not only there for our bellies. It's also used for many other things. I think, water, if commodified, will be more expensive than food for everyone. There are various types of foods for hunger, some are costly and some are cheap. All can survive, no matter poor or rich. But water will not have that advantage and will be available in the same form for everyone. Say, it had a severe shortage, and the prices would touch skies, could you come up with alternative or could you refrain drinking it?
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What happens if there's a shortage, now? How does involving the government fix that?
If there's a market, then when there's a regional shortage, supply will be diverted from other uses in other places, to meet the more urgent demand.
There's no reason to think a water market wouldn't be highly competitive. It can be produced in many places, using several different methods. In competitive markets, prices tend towards the marginal cost of production, which is very low for water.
Government monopolies have no direct mechanism to drive down their costs, because they get their revenue coercively.
Colorado river and Hoover Dam
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