Comment by gkoz
3 months ago
Isn't the purpose of many regulations to stop people who are wrong from harming themselves and others? That is, the experience of being wrong also teaches respect for rules one doesn't understand.
3 months ago
Isn't the purpose of many regulations to stop people who are wrong from harming themselves and others? That is, the experience of being wrong also teaches respect for rules one doesn't understand.
Which purpose do you mean? Stated purpose? Intended purpose? Regulators’ purpose? Legislators’ purpose? Donors’ and other special interests’ purpose? Harm as defined by whom? The field of public-choice economics rests on the insight that employees of agencies and bureaus act in their own self-interest, which is not always the same as the public interest.
That is claimed, but often the real purpose is to stop people who otherwise could do something from taking that work away from whatever group created the regulation.
Electrician/plumber/hvac trade groups salivate over the idea of having the products they install be as locked down as Hyundai brake pads.
Which is why I can't legally replace my water heater - a simple job that I've done myself several times in other cities. Or lots of other basic home maintenance. (I grew up in a house built by a plumber, and my current house was owned by a builder before me - so I have plenty of first hand experience with how bad trades can do their own work)
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