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There is a fantastic overview of this by Matt Levine at Bloomberg.[1] (The following is all quoted text): I am working on a tentative theory of regulation. It
by tyre 10y ago
There is a fantastic overview of this by Matt Levine at Bloomberg.[1] (The following is all quoted text):
I am working on a tentative theory of regulation. It goes like this:
1) There are two kinds of regulations: custom regulations and bulk regulations.
2) A custom regulation is designed to accomplish a particular goal. You want people to do something, so you write a rule mandating that they do it and punishing them if they don't. For instance, if you want U.S. companies to keep jobs in the U.S., you might write a rule to mandate that, and to "impose a 'very major' border tax on companies that move jobs outside the U.S." That is an example of a custom regulation, and it is good because it keeps jobs in the U.S.
3) Bulk regulations are the kind that you buy by the yard, ones that you measure by quantity rather than purpose. They don't have a purpose, really; they are just generic "red tape." These are the regulations that presidents frequently announce they will cut in half, or freeze with an executive order. They're the regulations that come not from a reasoned desire to achieve a particular goal, but from a pure impulse to regulate. Bulk regulations are bad because they prevent businesses from doing business-y things without accomplishing anything good.
4) All regulations are custom regulations.
5) All discussion of "regulation" is about bulk regulations, which do not exist.
[1]: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-24/metrics-fees-and-regulations https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-24/metrics-f...
- Afforess 10y agoI love Matt Levine, but he's wrong that "Bulk Regulations" don't exist. They are called licenses, and you have to have them do operate many types of businesses. See hair salon licenses, landscaping licenses, etc. There is zero reason for licenses in many low-skill sectors, but they exist and are regularly codified into state or federal laws as a requirement of doing business. These licenses are enforced by rent-seeking gatekeepers, who effectively drive out competition and raise prices on consumers. This is very much "bulk regulation", and is terrible for everyone.
- wavefunction 10y agoHow do you enforce uniform education about say, hygiene without a license? You say there are zero reasons but I think there had to be at least one once, and probably still.
- Afforess 10y agoDo you need 1000 days of training to properly dress hair? Because that's the average training required to acquire the license.
- tadfisher 10y agoCosmetology licensure requirements usually specify hours, not days. Even still, cosmetology is a surprisingly complex practice which really does require a lot of hands-on training to become proficient. You should talk with a licensed cosmetologist sometime to get the ins and outs of their education.
- WorldMaker 10y agoOr talk to someone who actually uses a cosmetologist's services regularly. It's very easy to gloss over the depth and complexity of a field when you don't even need its services.
- Arizhel 10y agoBut somehow, millions of women manage to wash and dry and style their own hair at home with no trouble...