That View Has Value

Have you ever wondered about the value of a clear day over the Grand Canyon?

That view you’re enjoying isn’t just beautiful. It’s a public good. And something like pollution from a nearby power plant would impede your enjoyment. The irresponsible commercial or industrial culprit should be penalized, no?

Public goods are meant to be shared. By definition, one person enjoying a public good doesn’t diminish another’s ability to do the same. Think of streetlights, public parks, the air we breathe, and, yes, the view from a canyon rim in a national park.

So when narrow-minded corporate actors distort or diminish the value of those shared resources—and don’t pay for their respective damage—it’s theft.

When new skyscrapers block a long-standing view, developers pay for air rights. Since big trucks wear down public roads at a much higher rate, they pay the Federal Heavy Vehicle Use Tax. That’s how we acknowledge disproportionate impact and preserve equity.

Yet too often, companies with a reductionist view of their social responsibility extract value from public goods without paying for it. And when we permit or encourage the privatization of a public good, it's essentially a corporate gift. And that is, simply put, stupid and wrong.

So while the transaction may be invisible, the impact certainly isn’t. And by the time we tally the true cost, it’s usually too late.

Watch the video to see what I mean.