Governor Easley’s office is proposing a bill that would impose mandatory water-use restrictions on all NC municipalities.
Two major debates should arise from this issue. First, why is the government assumed to be a better rationing mechanism than the market? Does the government have all the necessary information to make water-use decisions on behalf of everyone?
Second, assuming that government is the appropriate rationing mechanism, why does the Governor assume that the state government is the appropriate level of government through which this should be addressed? Why are municipalities (all of whom would be affected differently by water shortages or surpluses) incapable of making water-use decisions on their own?
