General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 12 Year Old Tells What The Shooter Said to Him, 1:18 seconds. CNN: [View all]sop
(10,172 posts)"Externalizing" is a socioeconomic term describing how one business maximizes its profits by off-loading indirect costs and forcing negative effects to a third party, in this case the general public and other businesses. Gun violence results in billions of dollars of negative externals every year, from the increasing cost of medical care, out-of-control policing, prisons and our court system, down to the need for expensive security everywhere we go.
All Americans pay dearly in blood and treasure to maintain the 2nd Amendment rights of a small minority of gun owners. We're also subsidizing gun manufacturers' profits by shifting these social and economic costs to the general public. It's the age-old "privatize your profits, socialize your losses" trick practiced by free-market true believers. We just can't afford it any longer.
Whatever negative external costs are created by the presence of guns in America, firearms manufacturers must pay for it. It can't continue being off-loaded onto the rest of us. Levy an "external negative costs tax" on all firearms, ammunition and related gun products, then use that revenue stream to pay for the societal costs caused by these products.