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The US scrapped alcohol prohibition due to its unintended side effects, and is increasingly scrapping marijuana prohibitions. Often the downsides do outweigh t

The US scrapped alcohol prohibition due to its unintended side effects, and is increasingly scrapping marijuana prohibitions. Often the downsides do outweigh their utility.

paulmd 7y ago
"Someone passed a bad law once, therefore all laws are bad." Guess we don't need food safety laws anymore, prohibition was bad! Surely you can understand the difference between prohibition and consumer-protection laws? They aren't even like, the same field of laws.
- pitaj 7y ago
  No, the point is that it's important to address and control for all of the consequences of policy - including the unintended ones.
  - paulmd 7y ago
    Sure, but then you need to demonstrate real (not just imagined) harm. GDPR doesn't seem to have caused the world to end. Vanishingly few people actually followed through on the whining and quit serving the EU. From the perspective of ordinary users, GDPR was a pretty successful law with no real downsides. Businesses have to be more careful with data, that's about it.
    - lacampbell 7y ago
      In regards to the GDPR, I imagine most people continue to ignore the laws of jurisdictions they have no presence in. If they have an EU presence they will follow EU laws, same as if they had a presence in China or North Korea.
- lacampbell 7y ago
  Odd way to paraphrase my argument.
ashelmire 7y ago
Did you miss the part where the individual you responded to said "Regulations aren’t set in stone forever, either, and a functional legislative body can always modify and update them as their effects become more well known."? There is over regulation in some areas, but lets be real: it's already extremely difficult to break into existing sectors, just as a result of industrialization, brand recognition, etc. The idea of the scrappy upstart is overwhelmingly a fantasy. This regulation won't prevent any businesses worth forming from getting underway, in my opinion.
jhayward 7y ago
> Often the downsides do outweigh their utility. More like, "almost never do the down sides outweigh their utility, because they aren't designed by idiots".

The US scrapped alcohol prohibition due to its unintended side effects, and is increasingly scrapping marijuana prohibitions. Often the downsides do outweigh their utility.

paulmd 7y ago

"Someone passed a bad law once, therefore all laws are bad." Guess we don't need food safety laws anymore, prohibition was bad! Surely you can understand the difference between prohibition and consumer-protection laws? They aren't even like, the same field of laws.

pitaj 7y ago
No, the point is that it's important to address and control for all of the consequences of policy - including the unintended ones.
- paulmd 7y ago
  Sure, but then you need to demonstrate real (not just imagined) harm. GDPR doesn't seem to have caused the world to end. Vanishingly few people actually followed through on the whining and quit serving the EU. From the perspective of ordinary users, GDPR was a pretty successful law with no real downsides. Businesses have to be more careful with data, that's about it.
  - lacampbell 7y ago
    In regards to the GDPR, I imagine most people continue to ignore the laws of jurisdictions they have no presence in. If they have an EU presence they will follow EU laws, same as if they had a presence in China or North Korea.
lacampbell 7y ago
Odd way to paraphrase my argument.

ashelmire 7y ago

Did you miss the part where the individual you responded to said "Regulations aren’t set in stone forever, either, and a functional legislative body can always modify and update them as their effects become more well known."? There is over regulation in some areas, but lets be real: it's already extremely difficult to break into existing sectors, just as a result of industrialization, brand recognition, etc. The idea of the scrappy upstart is overwhelmingly a fantasy. This regulation won't prevent any businesses worth forming from getting underway, in my opinion.

jhayward 7y ago

> Often the downsides do outweigh their utility. More like, "almost never do the down sides outweigh their utility, because they aren't designed by idiots".