Posted on 12/10/2013 10:22:16 AM PST by Starman417
One of the most odious aspects of regulation is the fact that it usually comes in a sugar coated package. Typically they are the result of a law that is intended to help everyone or protect some group or to give an advantage to a group whose members are perceived to be disadvantaged.
Its that sugar coating that makes regulations so difficult to challenge. If you oppose pouring more money into a failed school system you Dont care about the children. If you oppose solar power funding or excessive energy regulation, you Dont care about the environment. If you oppose a minimum wage increase you are a shill for big business and Dont care about workers and if you oppose Obamacare you dont care about the poor and youre racist to boot.
Of course once those regulations are in place, once theyre on the books, they almost never come off. Regardless of their ineffectualness in actually solving whatever problem they were theoretically supposed to solve, or despite their actually making the problem worse, the answer is almost never to repeal the law and send the staff out into the world to find jobs in the private sector. Instead the solution is almost invariably more laws or regulations to try and patch over the minor problems with the first law or regulations.
The Head Start program is a perfect example of this problem. Started during the heady progressive days of LBJ as part of his War on Poverty the program has been a consistent failure, showing no material benefits, yet it still exists. Not only that, its supporters continue to push for increased funding for the program. But it cant be killed because of the children. Of course, that is just one of the thousands of programs costing hundreds of billions of dollars each year that were put in place to stamp out poverty. Yet, somehow, despite the distinctly changing nature of the definition of poverty, there remain more people characterized as living in poverty in the US today than at any point in our history.
Another aspect of this tyranny of regulations is the fact that that sugar coating is usually delivered via a bullhorn. Whether its teachers unions striking for more education spending or the SEIU picketing for the right to organize virtually anyone who still has a job to illegal immigrants demanding amnesty to the Democrats and the media conspiring to convince the country that the GOP wants to throw grandma off a cliff, the facts about the costs and consequences of regulations are rarely ever discussed. Its hard to carry on a fruitful discussion when one side simply shouts platitudes and refuses examine the actual causes of the problems. If throwing money at education were the solution, the United States would have the smartest kids on the planet Alas we dont. If the only choice is between throwing grandma off a cliff and spending more money on a Social Security system that will crumble at some point in the future everyone will want to save grandma.
There are few issues in life that whose salient points can be easily captured on a picket sign. Of those, none are solved by government legislation or regulation. Much to Americas shame that fact apparently doesnt matter. What do we want... (Insert relevant liberal trope here) When do we want it... NOW!
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
Why?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.