Morels and Sixguns
Over at the Gates of the Mountains blog, Anthony picks up on a Wall Street Journal story about the unregulated market for morel mushrooms in Montana. Anthony suggests that higher permit prices would lead to a more orderly, safe, and efficient market.
As a taxpayer, I'm always happy to raise fees on others, especially when they use public lands for profit. But it seems to me that in our society-wide quest for efficient markets, we have a habit of squeezing out the little guy. Collecting mushrooms is a pretty low-tech way for somebody who hasn't had the benefit of education or access to capital markets to still make a buck.
I agree regulation could make the market more orderly, safe, and efficient. But at the price of accessible? After all, there are few people who would move a five-person family into a tent for the summer, even for occasional revenues of $800 a day. Wouldn't higher permit prices mean that somebody with more capital would buy the permit and skim off the profits?
Anthony says the current situation sounds a little like the Wild West. I think that's OK. The Wild West stays in our national consciousness because the notion of making your way in emerging markets is so central to the American experience.
Join the discussion at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/johnclaytonoutreach/
As a taxpayer, I'm always happy to raise fees on others, especially when they use public lands for profit. But it seems to me that in our society-wide quest for efficient markets, we have a habit of squeezing out the little guy. Collecting mushrooms is a pretty low-tech way for somebody who hasn't had the benefit of education or access to capital markets to still make a buck.
I agree regulation could make the market more orderly, safe, and efficient. But at the price of accessible? After all, there are few people who would move a five-person family into a tent for the summer, even for occasional revenues of $800 a day. Wouldn't higher permit prices mean that somebody with more capital would buy the permit and skim off the profits?
Anthony says the current situation sounds a little like the Wild West. I think that's OK. The Wild West stays in our national consciousness because the notion of making your way in emerging markets is so central to the American experience.
Join the discussion at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/johnclaytonoutreach/
