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Is there anyway to reverse course in the USA and remove power from these alphabet agencies that claim they know what's best for us? What happened to being a fre

by jdanp 8y ago

Is there anyway to reverse course in the USA and remove power from these alphabet agencies that claim they know what's best for us? What happened to being a free people who could make their own decisions?

danharaj 8y ago
Give me a break. Things sucked without the FDA.
- jdanp 8y ago
  Certain things were worse, certain things were better. Unfettered access to opiates prior to the FDA's formation never led to a crisis like we are seeing today.
  - danharaj 8y ago
    Literally a century of changes besides the FDA's role also intervened. The FDA is, to be honest, shit compared to how it could be if it were a better run organization. But it's still better than throwing entire industries to the wolves and insisting the free market will save us.
kevin_b_er 8y ago
Because companies lie, beg, borrow, and steal in favor of profit, at the expense of the public. It is the duty of the public to restrain such abuse.
- jdanp 8y ago
  I agree with you 100%, but these agencies are often headed by former executives of companies which they pretend to vilify.
jasonmp85 8y ago
Yeah: leave
- jdanp 8y ago
  Reading your comment history, it seems like you've been having a hard couple months. I'll save our adult conversation for another day.
jimktrains2 8y ago
> What happened to being a free people who could make their own decisions? I'm glad you have the time, knowledge, expertise, and experience to thoroughly investigate the safety and long term affects of every product you use on yourself, second hand effects on others, and the environment. Not everyone is so lucky to be blessed with so much time, energy, and knowledge that they themselves can do what thousands of people so full time.
- claydavisss 8y ago
  The point is the government is not consistent about what is permitted and what is banned. If you are banning vices that cause societal harm, alcohol is far ahead of anything else. DUI victims, destroyed families, physical abuse, homelessness...alcohol is reliably correlated to all of these but since it brings in lots of tax $$$ and educated voters enjoy their Pinot, we look the other way.
  - jimktrains2 8y ago
    Where did I claim it was a perfect system? My point was that it's a better system than the alternative of everyone fending for themselves. Also, alcohol sales and marketing are heavily regulated, along with tobacco.
    - folkrav 8y ago
      Then regulate the vaping industry as well. Outright banning it because of current issues is damn short-sighted.
      - jimktrains2 8y ago
        > The Food and Drug Administration is threatening to pull flavored electronic cigarettes like Juul off the market if the tobacco industry doesn’t do more to combat growing use of the products by children and teens. They're not "Outright banning", they're threatening to if the industry is unable to stop advertising to or otherwise making it appeal children. This is par-for-course for how regulation works: you don't comply and refuse to become compliant, you can't do business. They're not just destroying an entire industry without working with said industry to mutually reach their goals.
ajross 8y ago
Hell yeah. Who wants their "food" and "drugs" regulated? Free pain killers for all! Toxic additives are great! Your complaint is a classic libertarian whine: you want the stuff you think is important regulated (though in practice you don't recognize how much of it already is), but the stuff on the margin is clearly an infringement on the fundamental rights of "free people".
djrogers 8y ago
As long as Congress refuses to write laws with more specificity than 'Foo shall write regulations to prevent all bad things', then no - we're stuck with this. I think this will change if we can elect more repreesentatives that are more intrested in serving 1-2 terms and writing good law than getting re-elected.
- jdanp 8y ago
  Very true, Ben Sasse recently had a good statement on this topic at the Kavanaugh hearings.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
dsfyu404ed 8y ago
Yes. Go vote for candidates that want to deregulate stuff you want deregulated. That said, the FDA is really, really far down most people's list of agencies that shouldn't exist. ATF and TSA are generally the agencies that most people would prefer to get rid of.

by jdanp 8y ago

danharaj 8y ago

Give me a break. Things sucked without the FDA.

jdanp 8y ago
Certain things were worse, certain things were better. Unfettered access to opiates prior to the FDA's formation never led to a crisis like we are seeing today.
- danharaj 8y ago
  Literally a century of changes besides the FDA's role also intervened. The FDA is, to be honest, shit compared to how it could be if it were a better run organization. But it's still better than throwing entire industries to the wolves and insisting the free market will save us.

kevin_b_er 8y ago

Because companies lie, beg, borrow, and steal in favor of profit, at the expense of the public. It is the duty of the public to restrain such abuse.

jdanp 8y ago
I agree with you 100%, but these agencies are often headed by former executives of companies which they pretend to vilify.

jasonmp85 8y ago

Yeah: leave

jdanp 8y ago
Reading your comment history, it seems like you've been having a hard couple months. I'll save our adult conversation for another day.

jimktrains2 8y ago

> What happened to being a free people who could make their own decisions? I'm glad you have the time, knowledge, expertise, and experience to thoroughly investigate the safety and long term affects of every product you use on yourself, second hand effects on others, and the environment. Not everyone is so lucky to be blessed with so much time, energy, and knowledge that they themselves can do what thousands of people so full time.

claydavisss 8y ago
The point is the government is not consistent about what is permitted and what is banned. If you are banning vices that cause societal harm, alcohol is far ahead of anything else. DUI victims, destroyed families, physical abuse, homelessness...alcohol is reliably correlated to all of these but since it brings in lots of tax $$$ and educated voters enjoy their Pinot, we look the other way.
- jimktrains2 8y ago
  Where did I claim it was a perfect system? My point was that it's a better system than the alternative of everyone fending for themselves. Also, alcohol sales and marketing are heavily regulated, along with tobacco.
  - folkrav 8y ago
    Then regulate the vaping industry as well. Outright banning it because of current issues is damn short-sighted.
    - jimktrains2 8y ago
      > The Food and Drug Administration is threatening to pull flavored electronic cigarettes like Juul off the market if the tobacco industry doesn’t do more to combat growing use of the products by children and teens. They're not "Outright banning", they're threatening to if the industry is unable to stop advertising to or otherwise making it appeal children. This is par-for-course for how regulation works: you don't comply and refuse to become compliant, you can't do business. They're not just destroying an entire industry without working with said industry to mutually reach their goals.

ajross 8y ago

Hell yeah. Who wants their "food" and "drugs" regulated? Free pain killers for all! Toxic additives are great! Your complaint is a classic libertarian whine: you want the stuff you think is important regulated (though in practice you don't recognize how much of it already is), but the stuff on the margin is clearly an infringement on the fundamental rights of "free people".

djrogers 8y ago

As long as Congress refuses to write laws with more specificity than 'Foo shall write regulations to prevent all bad things', then no - we're stuck with this. I think this will change if we can elect more repreesentatives that are more intrested in serving 1-2 terms and writing good law than getting re-elected.

jdanp 8y ago
Very true, Ben Sasse recently had a good statement on this topic at the Kavanaugh hearings.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

dsfyu404ed 8y ago

Yes. Go vote for candidates that want to deregulate stuff you want deregulated. That said, the FDA is really, really far down most people's list of agencies that shouldn't exist. ATF and TSA are generally the agencies that most people would prefer to get rid of.