http://enableate.com/steve/2008/1357 make it happen Sat, 11 Feb 2012 07:19:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 http://enableate.com/steve/2008/1357#comment-19607 darwin Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:12:10 +0000 http://enableate.com/steve/2008/1357#comment-19607 So, you say one area of regulation sounds fishy to you, and one gigantic energy act had a single silly consequence? Hell, lets shut down the FDA right now. The problem is you're not differentiating between oversight, mandates, enforcement, etc etc. Obviously there are stupid mandates all the time that are made for political purposes or to appease lobbyists or just because the legislators are being dumb. And obviously the government succedes some times and not other times, and we already have way to much regulation in some areas and not enough in others. But many of the problems that led up to the current financial crisis were clearly problems of fraud, and the type of oversight and enforcement that would have allowed that fraud to be detected and prosecuted is also regulation. Requiring that children's toys don't contain enough lead to cause brain damage is also regulation, because it's a law that shapes business practices. Truth-in-advertising legislation is regulation. Sure we can't predict the consequences of THESE regulations, but we can't predict the consequences of outlawing murder either. We can't predict the consequences of ANY ACTION. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing, as best as you can figure. So, you say one area of regulation sounds fishy to you, and one gigantic energy act had a single silly consequence? Hell, lets shut down the FDA right now.
The problem is you’re not differentiating between oversight, mandates, enforcement, etc etc. Obviously there are stupid mandates all the time that are made for political purposes or to appease lobbyists or just because the legislators are being dumb. And obviously the government succedes some times and not other times, and we already have way to much regulation in some areas and not enough in others. But many of the problems that led up to the current financial crisis were clearly problems of fraud, and the type of oversight and enforcement that would have allowed that fraud to be detected and prosecuted is also regulation. Requiring that children’s toys don’t contain enough lead to cause brain damage is also regulation, because it’s a law that shapes business practices. Truth-in-advertising legislation is regulation.
Sure we can’t predict the consequences of THESE regulations, but we can’t predict the consequences of outlawing murder either. We can’t predict the consequences of ANY ACTION. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing, as best as you can figure.

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