tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2499771266402854669.post4536710629300635136..comments2024-02-08T01:44:24.272-05:00Comments on ModeratePoli: Why the medicine stopped workingModeratePolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01721945380057992971noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2499771266402854669.post-32102163262123819062011-08-04T20:29:08.806-04:002011-08-04T20:29:08.806-04:00Anon 4:58,
Good points, but I still think there&#...Anon 4:58,<br /><br />Good points, but I still think there's some truth to stories about overregulation. But it can be hard to sort the truth from the lies, as the <a href="http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2011/mar/11/morgan-griffith/morgan-griffith-says-epa-treats-milk-spills-same-w/" rel="nofollow">milk spill story</a> shows. What prompts politicians to lie like this?<br /><br />I'm not against all regulation. As I said, I think we need it for safety--the safety of our lives, our health, our environment, our money. <br /><br />I'd love the hear true stories of overregulation because that would indicate where to cut.<br /><br />Thanks for posting. -M.P.ModeratePolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01721945380057992971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2499771266402854669.post-46508453066975149672011-08-04T19:58:17.403-04:002011-08-04T19:58:17.403-04:00Well, ModeratePoli, you've been busy!!
Lots o...Well, ModeratePoli, you've been busy!!<br /><br />Lots of posts in just a few days. Lots of material to work with lately, of course, and not a little bit of pent-up thoughts no doubt contributed to the explosion.<br /><br />I would hope you'd consider a couple of things, particularly on this topic: basic economic theory.<br /><br />1) "Regulations" are mostly written by and to favor the regulated. They usually set forth minimum standards of behavior -- which are set artificially low and are full of loopholes -- to allow the regulated to pass-off their costs to others so that they get to keep more of the money they make. Those regulations also are typically designed to prevent entry to the markets of the regulated, so they can maintain their market shares and produce very high entry costs for potential competitors.<br /><br />Consider environmental regulations. The regulated hate it, and seek to minimize requirements and enforcement. Preventing polution costs lots of money, as would defending against lawsuits. If those regulations were relaxed, they could save the money and could just make the rest of us deal with the ugly, sickening mess. It's not so much different for financial regulation.<br /><br />We need MORE regulation -- i.e., policing of those who would gleefully and greedily make others pay for their messess -- and must be forever diligent. There's a reasons stores have security guards, and it's not to protect the patron in the store. It's to protect the store from theft. The whole country and world is OUR store, and there are people everything looking to take advantage if someone isn't watching, whether it's the inside-trader, the land-developer, or the drug kingpin. We just have to police all of the potential crooks, not just the drug kingpin. They all cost the rest of us a fortune.<br /><br />2) Economics 101: Government borrowing = taxing = printing money. All of them are exactly the same. They are all a form of taxation. The GOP's arguments on this subject are so effective, yet so false, that we have distorted the argument. If government spends money wisely, on, say, building public works and effectively educating the workforce, we get productivity and standard of living gains. If the government spends money foolishly, on, say needless wars or defense or a million security guards to make sure people don't bring bottles of water and a tube of toothpaste onto a plane, productivity goes down and we lose.<br /><br />The only choice now is to build our way out of the stupid decisions accumulated over a couple of decades, and make sure we don't make the same mistakes again. I have little confidence this will happen. If you'll allow the cliche, the USA has now jumped the shark. Our economics and political institutions are so wrapped up in pointless, stupid plot twists ("The government is strangling us so we're not free to grow!! and "Obama's a socialist anti-colonialist and not even a real American!!") that it's not worth investing in. If the USA were a TV show, it would be cancelled.<br /><br />Canada is looking better all the time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com