Posts in "Regulation"

By Bonnie Kristian at 7:25PM

Oct 27, 2010

Thinking of going into business?

Hat tip.

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By Adam Fowler at 8:40PM

Aug 27, 2010

'Government Approved'

A little noticed effect of government regulation of industry is that it acts in ways to protect already established businesses from up-start competition, doing a disfavor to consumers. Part of the way it achieves this is through licensing and "seals of approval."

A small section of a recent report on the current egg recall notes how the USDA issues such government approval:

A USDA official, though, told FoxNews.com that USDA agencies have had no involvement in food safety regulations over shell eggs. The official said USDA's chief task was to send an official to the farms, including one involved in the latest outbreak, to grade the eggs -- in other words, inspect them for thickness and cracks and other quality assurance factors in order to give them a USDA seal of approval.

"Quality" is here based on standards developed by a government bureaucracy. The story notes how such standards do not necessarily ensure safety:

That stamp, though, does not certify that an egg is salmonella-free.

Licensing Restrictions Shut Down Little Girl’s Lemonade Stand

During the hot summer months, it’s practically an American tradition for children to set up lemonade stands in their neighborhood. The children learn valuable skills on how to run a business while earning some extra summer cash. A few years ago, the image of bureaucrats forcibly shutting down innocent lemonade stands may have been satire. Not anymore. The out of control nanny state has targeted all business owners—even if the entrepreneur happens to be a 7 year-old girl selling lemonade.

On July 29, Julie Murphy committed the “heinous crime” of selling lemonade for 50 cents a cup at an arts fair in Portland. Since the young entrepreneur did not have a temporary restaurant license costing $120, the county health inspectors threatened to fine her $500 if she did not leave. Even after offering the lemonade for free and for donation only, the county officials shut down her lemonade stand. While Julie left the fair in tears, hopefully her entrepreneurial spirit was not broken by these harsh government regulations.

According to environmental health supervisor John Kawaguchi,

I understand the reason behind what they're doing and it's a neighborhood event, and they're trying to generate revenue. But we still need to put the public's health first.

Be forewarned that county officials have the power to shut down children’s lemonade stands even if they are on a private front lawn.

Our biggest financial risk...is our regulators.

At the blog Learning From Dogs where I write from time to time, fellow author Per Kurowski, who has a deep understanding of the global financial system, made a comment that I thought YAL readers might find interesting. Granted, it might be useful to view the original post for some context, but the comment can be understood in its own right as an interesting point of view on global finance. Kurowski writes:

Here is a question on financial regulations, only for the brave.
Currently the financial regulators in the Basel Committee requires the bank to hold 8 percent when lending to unrated small businesses and entrepreneurs but only 1.6 percent when lending to triple A rated clients.
What would have happened if exactly the opposite capital requirements had been imposed? The banks having to hold instead 8 percent in capital when lending to triple-A rated clients and only 1.6 percent when lending to unrated small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

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By Adam Fowler at 8:24PM

Jul 15, 2010

Reasons Not to Praise Financial 'Reform'

In light of the Senate's passage today of financial 'reform,' here's a video from Reason.tv noting 3 reasons new regulations won't fix anything:

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By Jeremy Davis at 2:44PM

Jul 15, 2010

The Never Ending Law Machine

In a recent article, John Stossel, host of Fox Business Network's Stossel, comments on the government's compulsion to regulate every meager aspect of our lives through an uncountable number of rules and laws, most of which we don't even know about.

Something's happened to America, and it isn't good. It's become easier to get into trouble. We've become a nation of a million rules. Not the kind of bottom-up rules that people generate through voluntary associations. Those are fine. I mean imposed, top-down rules formed in the brains of meddling bureaucrats who think they know better than we how to manage our lives.

Check of the rest of his article here.

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By Wesley Messamore at 12:42PM

Jun 28, 2010

It's a great day for freedom!

So you're telling me that Sarbanes-Oxley (a piece of strangling regulation on our capital markets) got dealt a major blow by the Supreme Court AND the Second Amendment has been incorporated to apply to state and local governments too!?

I'm in the mood for music:

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By Wesley Messamore at 12:08PM

Jun 9, 2010

Is More Regulation the Solution?

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By Wesley Messamore at 7:10PM

Apr 25, 2010

The Washington-Wall Street Kabuki Dance

From Campaign for Liberty:

Roderick Long has it right when he says, "We might compare the alliance between government and big business to the alliance between church and state in the Middle Ages. Of course it's in the interest of both parties to maintain the alliance -- but all the same, each side would like to be the dominant partner, so it's no surprise that the history of such alliances will often look like a history of conflict and antipathy, as each side struggles to get the upper hand. But this struggle must be read against a common background framework of cooperation to maintain the system of control."

Read the whole article here.

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