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I like regulation. I see these articles about people in China suffering from severe asthma and entire major cities where you can't go outside due to the haze o
by wavefunction 11y ago
I like regulation. I see these articles about people in China suffering from severe asthma and entire major cities where you can't go outside due to the haze of pollution and I thank my lucky stars our forerunners had the decency and common sense to think of the future and not just short-term bottom-lines.
- mikeash 11y agoI visit China every couple of years and I completely agree. The terrible air quality is the worst thing about Beijing. But it does explain a decent chunk of the cost disparity. The Chinese (or at least the government) are willing to pollute the crap out of their air in order to better compete, while we are not. That doesn't mean we should join them, but it does explain their lower costs.
- zeveb 11y ago> I like regulation. Hence my comment that it's, 'absolutely necessary.' But it has costs, and not every instance of regulation is absolutely necessary. > I thank my lucky stars our forerunners had the decency and common sense to think of the future and not just short-term bottom-lines. Look at photos from the 1970s. The reason we're as well-off now as we are is precisely that our forerunners weren't focusing on long-term cleanliness and instead focused on short-term profits at the expense of the environment. Then we got rich enough as a society to afford to clean it up. Note, too, that not all regulations are environmental. Look at how difficult it can be to hire a contractor in some states, or the amount of money a small business must expend to be in regulatory compliance.