Will Cap and Trade Kill Motley Crue???

Motley Crue has been through a lot over the years.  They've survived their bass player's heroin addiction.  They survived their lead singer's drunken vehicular manslaughter.  They survived their gutair player's battle with ankylosing spondylitis.  They even survived Pamela's false domestic abuse accusations.  The one thing Motley Crue might not survive is President Obama's environmental policies.

For those of you unaware: the typical Crue show includes lots of flashy pyrotechnics.  To say that Crue shows have a heavy carbon footprint is the understatement of the century.  How would cap and trade impact them?

Microeconomics 101 Suggests two possibilities:

1) Crue shows become more expensive.  Under a cap and trade regime - between the pyrotechnics, the giant Marshall stacks, and the private plane travel between gigs - the Crue would be over any CAP that government busybodies might assign them.  That will, of course, force them to TRADE for the right to emit more carbon.  In order to trade for the carbon, they'll have to PAY MONEY. 

How will they make up for the money they have to pay?  They'll RAISE PRICES on tickets and merch.  By definition, higher prices mean fewer people will pay to see them.  In a worst-case scenario, the Crue could decide that touring is prohibitively expensive and stay home and bang strippers instead.

2) Crue shows are less cool.  Instead of paying for the "right" to emit carbon, they might cut back on pyrotechnics and Marshall stacks.  By definition, this is an INFERIOR product.  Marginal Crue fans (unlike me) might decide that Crue shows aren't worth it anymore and they might spend their scarce entertaiment dollars elsewhere.

Ultimately, no matter what happens, the Crue will be fine.  They've already made their money and they can probably afford to live out the rest of their days even if they never earn another cent.  The people who this will really hurt will be the massive support staff you need to pull off a tour of any magnitude.

While you may not care about the Crue per se, this vignette epitomizes perfectly the fundamental assault on personal freedom that is cap and trade.  The Crue's decision about what sort of live performace (if any) to put on will not be based on the economics of what the fans want (hint: BIG explosions) against the budget constraint of the band.  Instead, the Crue's decision will be based on what some busybody at the EPA thinks is best for all of us.  That's not America; that's France.

I hope this helps.

That is all.

Cahnman out.