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Who cares? Why is this the sort of thing that needs to be regulated in the first place? When I go to a restaurant and order a 16oz steak it doesn't get weighed

by harryh 10y ago

Who cares? Why is this the sort of thing that needs to be regulated in the first place? When I go to a restaurant and order a 16oz steak it doesn't get weighed on a government approved scale. That's because if a restaurant rips off its customers then people will stop eating there. If Uber overcharged for rides then people would stop using them for rides. This is textbook government overregulation.

elboru 10y ago
Well it depends where you are. I spent my last vacations in Cuba, and it was a pain to have to bargain with taxis every single time, same distances will cost me anywhere between 25 and 5 dlls. I really missed uber over there, or even a taximeter, and again I'm sure that was because I was a tourist, even though I'm Hispanic myself they were able to spot me as a tourist.
bkor 10y ago
> Why is this the sort of thing that needs to be regulated in the first place? Customer protection laws are entirely normal in lots of countries. You question the need, I question why you think it shouldn't exist? For your example, the restaurants are checked by the government. Unhealthy restaurants get warned and eventually closed. Determining if a scale is accurate on e.g. a market is another textbook regulation. > This is textbook government overregulation. Seems you're arguing for having companies cheat customers. What's the benefit for a country like Denmark to allow that to happen?
- harryh 10y ago
  I'm arguing that, when it comes to taxi service (and steaks) customers are perfectly capable of protecting themselves from cheating service providers without government help. We should have as few regulations as we can get away with as regulations almost inevitably get used in unintended ways with negative consequences. Incumbents use them to drive out upstart competition and increase costs for everyone.
makomk 10y ago
At least in the UK, companies are generally required to use government approved scales for goods that are sold by weight - and Trading Standards do random audits of this to make sure they're in compliance. This has been the case for a long time because rigged scales are a very old swindle.

by harryh 10y ago

elboru 10y ago

Well it depends where you are. I spent my last vacations in Cuba, and it was a pain to have to bargain with taxis every single time, same distances will cost me anywhere between 25 and 5 dlls. I really missed uber over there, or even a taximeter, and again I'm sure that was because I was a tourist, even though I'm Hispanic myself they were able to spot me as a tourist.

bkor 10y ago

> Why is this the sort of thing that needs to be regulated in the first place? Customer protection laws are entirely normal in lots of countries. You question the need, I question why you think it shouldn't exist? For your example, the restaurants are checked by the government. Unhealthy restaurants get warned and eventually closed. Determining if a scale is accurate on e.g. a market is another textbook regulation. > This is textbook government overregulation. Seems you're arguing for having companies cheat customers. What's the benefit for a country like Denmark to allow that to happen?

harryh 10y ago
I'm arguing that, when it comes to taxi service (and steaks) customers are perfectly capable of protecting themselves from cheating service providers without government help. We should have as few regulations as we can get away with as regulations almost inevitably get used in unintended ways with negative consequences. Incumbents use them to drive out upstart competition and increase costs for everyone.

makomk 10y ago

At least in the UK, companies are generally required to use government approved scales for goods that are sold by weight - and Trading Standards do random audits of this to make sure they're in compliance. This has been the case for a long time because rigged scales are a very old swindle.