The coercive power of the state

The coercive power of the state in a more honest light

Government officials from around the world pumped vast quantities of pollution into the environment traveling to and from France in order to "save" the planet. Giddy at the prospect of exerting even greater control over the people of California, the man squandering billions of dollars on the train to nowhere, Governor Jerry Brown made some revealing comments on his view of the proper attitude of government towards its citizens.

The Governor thinks that he knows better than you do what's good for you. And he's going to make you pay for it -- whether you like it or not -- and call it "progress" (emphases mine):

“You do have to have, at the end of the day, a regulation, a law,” he said. “Progress comes from well-designed regulatory objectives that business then follows.”

[...]

Later, at the site where world leaders are meeting to negotiate a climate pact outside of Paris, Brown urged a small crowd to “never underestimate the coercive power of the central state in the service of good.”

"Good" the way he defines it, not you. To him, increased regulation and taxation is "progress":

“You can be sure California is going to keep innovating, keep regulating,” the Democratic governor said. “And, shall I say, keep taxing.”

Controversially, many green-energy businesses benefit from government subsidies or policies to reduce greenhouse gases.

At a news conference Monday evening, business owners chuckled when asked if their companies would be viable without government support.

K.R. Sridhar, chief executive officer of the fuel cell company Bloom Energy, said, “There’s almost nothing in the post-industrial age, no business, no industry that ever got started or ever flourished without policy support, without subsidy and without federal support.”

Jerry Brown believes it's his right to regulate and tax you and then give your wealth to whomever he chooses.