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Nothing has hurt quality of life for the average person in this country more than the mindless pursuit of "freedom from government regulation". In reality, all

by DanI-S 16y ago

Nothing has hurt quality of life for the average person in this country more than the mindless pursuit of "freedom from government regulation". In reality, all it means is our lifestyle is regulated by industry rather than our elected representatives. The article ends with the statement that "Sometimes you just need to draw a line in the sand and say “enough is enough”." That's all well and good, but who can do that without the law on their side? Not many people can afford to be fired.

acon 16y ago
An alternative to government regulations is to organize in unions. Then you can have somewhat equal partners negotiating. Of course there are disadvantages to unions, as there are to all large organizations. They tend to take on a life of their own, with its own agenda which may not represent the will of its members.
- evizaer 16y ago
  I feel like if employees attempted to assemble into some kind of union, employers would immediately lay them off. There are thousands of other people waiting to get the jobs of the professionals who try to organize. It doesn't make sense to risk your job for a chance to have a little better pay, a few fewer hours, or another couple days of paid vacation.
  - MoreMoschops 16y ago
    And yet people did it before and won better lives for themselves and their families.
    - natnat 16y ago
      Yes, but that happened when the U.S. was going through tremendous economic growth and labor was in demand. These days, there are tens of millions of unemployed workers ready to take your place if you start doing things your employer doesn't like.
rdtsc 16y ago
> "freedom from government regulation" Or the average person is easily brainwashed by propaganda and can be easily manipulated to vote against their own interests. I like how "death panels" became a favorite PR slogan during the healthcare debate, while the same people don't realize their employers and the insurance companies are already functioning as the effectively the same "death panels". There is also another element to it: everyone seems to be wondering how come we are "coming out of the recession", profits are up, and yet the unemployment is so high !? The economists are just baffled and writing long essays discussing this phenomenon. To me it seems that Americans are seeing their co-workers laid off, they have their health insurance tied with their employment, they have large mortgages that they cannot afford (yes, it is their fault for taking on those depts), large credit card bills, no savings -- these are not people who will protest and demand more vacation time and higher pay. They will be working 60 hour weeks doing the work of their laid off co-workers, trying not to be next. If they lose their job, most will end up losing their home and health insurance for their children. I understand this probably doesn't affect the average HN-ers, who are running successful startups, or would have 2 job offers the minute they walk out of their work place. But unfortunately that is not true for most Americans.
- dpatru 16y ago
  It's somewhat true that insurance coverage can determine what treatment someone will get. But, one always has the (perhaps theoretical) option of switching insurance companies or paying for treatment out of one's own pocket. When the government is your one and only insurer, that option disappears. You seem for government regulation yet mention high unemployment, health insurance tied to employment, large mortgage debt, large credit card debt, and no savings. All of these problems are caused or worsened by government. Government tax rules make it more expensive and complex to hire. Government minimum wage requirements make it outright illegal to profitably hire the lowest-skilled workers. Government unemployment benefits provide workers with incentives not to find a job. Employers did not normally offer health insurance until government tax rules encouraged them to do so by not subjecting health insurance benefits to the normal income tax. Government is responsible for making it more expensive for a worker to purchase insurance himself rather than through his employer. Large mortgages are encouraged by special tax treatment for mortgage interest and by tax breaks associated with home ownership. Government's inflationary monetary policy and its prohibition/discouragement on citizen's use of other money encourage people into debt and discourage saving. In an era when everyone seems to be in debt, interest rates should be very high, encouraging savers. Yet interest rates are at or near all time lows. Would that more people would vote against government regulation. Unfortunately, most seem to have been brainwashed by government propaganda.

by DanI-S 16y ago

acon 16y ago

An alternative to government regulations is to organize in unions. Then you can have somewhat equal partners negotiating. Of course there are disadvantages to unions, as there are to all large organizations. They tend to take on a life of their own, with its own agenda which may not represent the will of its members.

evizaer 16y ago
I feel like if employees attempted to assemble into some kind of union, employers would immediately lay them off. There are thousands of other people waiting to get the jobs of the professionals who try to organize. It doesn't make sense to risk your job for a chance to have a little better pay, a few fewer hours, or another couple days of paid vacation.
- MoreMoschops 16y ago
  And yet people did it before and won better lives for themselves and their families.
  - natnat 16y ago
    Yes, but that happened when the U.S. was going through tremendous economic growth and labor was in demand. These days, there are tens of millions of unemployed workers ready to take your place if you start doing things your employer doesn't like.

rdtsc 16y ago

> "freedom from government regulation" Or the average person is easily brainwashed by propaganda and can be easily manipulated to vote against their own interests. I like how "death panels" became a favorite PR slogan during the healthcare debate, while the same people don't realize their employers and the insurance companies are already functioning as the effectively the same "death panels". There is also another element to it: everyone seems to be wondering how come we are "coming out of the recession", profits are up, and yet the unemployment is so high !? The economists are just baffled and writing long essays discussing this phenomenon. To me it seems that Americans are seeing their co-workers laid off, they have their health insurance tied with their employment, they have large mortgages that they cannot afford (yes, it is their fault for taking on those depts), large credit card bills, no savings -- these are not people who will protest and demand more vacation time and higher pay. They will be working 60 hour weeks doing the work of their laid off co-workers, trying not to be next. If they lose their job, most will end up losing their home and health insurance for their children. I understand this probably doesn't affect the average HN-ers, who are running successful startups, or would have 2 job offers the minute they walk out of their work place. But unfortunately that is not true for most Americans.

dpatru 16y ago
It's somewhat true that insurance coverage can determine what treatment someone will get. But, one always has the (perhaps theoretical) option of switching insurance companies or paying for treatment out of one's own pocket. When the government is your one and only insurer, that option disappears. You seem for government regulation yet mention high unemployment, health insurance tied to employment, large mortgage debt, large credit card debt, and no savings. All of these problems are caused or worsened by government. Government tax rules make it more expensive and complex to hire. Government minimum wage requirements make it outright illegal to profitably hire the lowest-skilled workers. Government unemployment benefits provide workers with incentives not to find a job. Employers did not normally offer health insurance until government tax rules encouraged them to do so by not subjecting health insurance benefits to the normal income tax. Government is responsible for making it more expensive for a worker to purchase insurance himself rather than through his employer. Large mortgages are encouraged by special tax treatment for mortgage interest and by tax breaks associated with home ownership. Government's inflationary monetary policy and its prohibition/discouragement on citizen's use of other money encourage people into debt and discourage saving. In an era when everyone seems to be in debt, interest rates should be very high, encouraging savers. Yet interest rates are at or near all time lows. Would that more people would vote against government regulation. Unfortunately, most seem to have been brainwashed by government propaganda.