Re: I thought of an initialy regulated industry!... (fwd)

[Jim Choate <ravage@einstein.ssz.com>]

Forwarded message:

> Date: Sun, 04 Oct 1998 11:40:34 -0700
> From: "James A. Donald" <jamesd@echeque.com>
> Subject: Re: I thought of an initialy regulated industry!...

> Observe that the level of harm is approximately proportional
> to the level of government regulation.

Please be so kind as to demonstrate by example why you believe that by
de-regulating the food industry, for example, we would recieve better
quality foodstuffs? Without regulation why would these companies quit mixing
their products and making better systems of quality control so that the
cases of E. Coli for example would decrease? Why is it that the number of
deaths in this country from salmonella and related food diseases have
*decreased* since the industry was regulated in the early 1920's when the
problem (people getting sick or dying from adulterated foodstuffs) was
at its peak?

Just look at the current issues related to non-pasteurized fruit juice
prodcts for a current example of the consequences of free-market economics
lack of regulation and by extension responsibility and the consequences
thereof.

> You presuppose that government officials will be more
> virtuous than private individuals.  This is obviously
> unlikely, since they have less reason to fear retribution
> than private individuals.

It's the private companies fearing retribution from the government, not the
end user. Your reasoning is faulty.

In an industry that is completely unregulated by anyone other than the
consumer and the producer the consumer will be taken advantage of. The
reason is that there is no real-world market force that will force
compliance. Now some are going to scream that the consumer will, the problem
is that the consumer is denied the information about/from the producer they
require in order to make the reasoned judgement.

The bottem line as to why free-market economies don't work is that it isn't
in the producers best interest to have a educated consumer. They might buy
somebody elses product or start their own company. Both of those are bad for
profits.

Free-market mavens forget that producers are just as greedy and corrupt as
everyone else, there is no fair competition in an unregulated market given
the pshychological make up of human beings.


    ____________________________________________________________________

                            The seeker is a finder.

                                     Ancient Persian Proverb

       The Armadillo Group       ,::////;::-.          James Choate
       Austin, Tx               /:'///// ``::>/|/      ravage@ssz.com
       www.ssz.com            .',  ||||    `/( e\      512-451-7087
                           -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'-
    --------------------------------------------------------------------