I will be speaking at the first Bay Area Liberty on the Mind Conference “California State’s Bankruptcy and its Economic Future” on Monday, April 27, 2009. 1-7PM.

Here’s the description:

California, the richest state of the union, is now financially bankrupt with the lowest credit rating in the USA. It is the highest taxed and highest spending state and has been running deficits for years. The state teetered on the brink of collapse in February before a compromise was achieved on the budget. It is not over yet—without voter approval, the crisis will come to head again. The conference will discuss the California State’s fiscal crisis and its structural causes and the likely future course it will take.

My talk on natural resources will be from 4:45 to 5:30. I’ll be emphasizing how the lack of property rights (e.g., salmon), prices (urban water), and markets (agricultural water) are magnifying the harm in these “troubled economic times.” This event has a libertarian orientation, but attendees are clearly interested in the good and bad policies that put us in a hole and (may) lead us out of it.

Here’s a registration widget ($15 students/$20 paypal/$25 at the door):
Bottom Line: Markets are most effective when resources are least plentiful!