Perverse housing incentives block urban high rises and set the woods on fire.
By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. | The Wall Street Journal
If only people who live on the seashore would get together with those who build in fire-prone wildernesses, the excess water of one could offset the excess dryness of the other. Sadly there is no direct way to effectuate such an arbitrage, but an indirect solution exists: Let insurance markets impose on individuals the full cost of the predictable risks they court.
Which brings us to the pending bankruptcy of the giant California utility PG&E over the state’s devastating wildfires. Though Californians have tried to make the truth more palatable by focusing on climate change, humans are the ignition source, bringing their houses, cars and spark-happy lifestyles into unsuitable terrain.
