There are some who don’t understand why many of us regard the “cap” part of cap and trade schemes as fatal to the idea that cap and trade is a free market mechanism. Over in the UK, the always insightful Matthew Sinclair has figured it out:

The supposed market solution relies upon bureaucrats coming up with a quota for every plant in the country based on their emissions history and an estimate of how much they can cut. It’s reminiscent of some old Communist five year plan with government telling the private sector what it is capable of and should achieve, why is this considered the capitalist approach?

Why, indeed?