4 ms·

Any time I see a headline of the form "No, X isn't going to Y", X does Y within six months.

kevingadd 5y ago
In this particular case I think the article's argument that the police aren't going to stroll up and confiscate your generator is a pretty reasonable one. Why would enforcement funds be wasted doing something like that? Limitations on sale of new product achieve the desired goals and are easy to enforce.
- neetdeth 5y ago
  Yes, it's a common journalistic trope to dig up the weakest, least defensible alarmist take and debunk it. Dismantling the strawman allows you to take a general pro-policy stance without explicitly defending the policy. Simultaneously, you discredit opponents by implied association with the weak argument. It boils down to a form of motte-and-bailey fallacy.
- ceejayoz 5y ago
  > Why would enforcement funds be wasted doing something like that? For the same reasons they get wasted on open container laws and whatnot. It's a handy weapon to wield in neighborhoods you don't like.
- tialaramex 5y ago
  It's not even necessary to be too strict on new product sales. With some gentle nudging the Invisible Hand will get the job done. For example, if you must buy one of those old 60W (actual power draw!) incandescent light bulbs, my local hardware store will sell you one, labelled "For industrial use", for only a little more than it cost ten years ago. However the superstore you're actually going to buy lamps in doesn't carry them any more, it just doesn't make economic sense. They have several different 8-10W LED lamps producing similar light output, often trading purchase cost versus efficiency (if you use more LEDs and balance them carefully they'll run longer and use less power to make the same light, but that costs money) but the only incandescents the big stores carry are specialist products for appliances like ovens. In my country it's hard to buy bathroom fittings (e.g. a shower or bath taps) that don't have thermostatic behaviour†. In applications where vulnerable people are expected to use them, thermostatic limits are mandatory, so if you're a plumbing trade outlet the products that don't have this are sometimes useless to your customers, "Nah, I need TMVs or it won't pass inspection" and then it makes sense, except perhaps for some budget lines, to only carry the version which is thermostatic. † A bimetallic thermostatic design is used, the "hot" supply is narrowed and eventually shuts altogether as water output temperature rises, so even though domestic hot water must be stored at e.g. 60°C the thermostatic valve can ensure the user never gets water above a set maximum temperature and thus they can't scald themselves or others (e.g. babies or old people)
Jtsummers 5y ago
Sounds like you haven't seen many headlines like that, then.
NikolaeVarius 5y ago
Please give examples
- rgrieselhuber 5y ago
  [flagged]
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- hunterb123 5y ago
  Vaccine passports? Simply search headlines from 2020 about them, compare them to today.
- version_five 5y ago
  For better or worse, I have to point out that two people (at the time of writing) gave examples in response to this prompt and got flagged. Consider turning on showdead if you don't see them.
- YATA0 5y ago
  Not within six months, but I do remember Trump positing a future where rioters would be coming for Jefferson and Washington statues, and the "experts", "historians" and the media laughed at him [0]. "Here's why [Trump's] wrong." Not even three years later, Jefferson statues were defaced and torn down [1]. [0] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/statues-washington-jefferson-aren-t-next-it-s-complicated-historians-n793971 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/statues-washing... [1] https://youtube.com/watch?v=h00PbujTqqQ https://youtube.com/watch?v=h00PbujTqqQ
julienreszka 5y ago
Pretty accurate assessment
version_five 5y ago
cheriot 5y ago
This law in question does not go into effect until _2028_

In this particular case I think the article's argument that the police aren't going to stroll up and confiscate your generator is a pretty reasonable one. Why would enforcement funds be wasted doing something like that? Limitations on sale of new product achieve the desired goals and are easy to enforce.

neetdeth 5y ago
Yes, it's a common journalistic trope to dig up the weakest, least defensible alarmist take and debunk it. Dismantling the strawman allows you to take a general pro-policy stance without explicitly defending the policy. Simultaneously, you discredit opponents by implied association with the weak argument. It boils down to a form of motte-and-bailey fallacy.
ceejayoz 5y ago
> Why would enforcement funds be wasted doing something like that? For the same reasons they get wasted on open container laws and whatnot. It's a handy weapon to wield in neighborhoods you don't like.
tialaramex 5y ago
It's not even necessary to be too strict on new product sales. With some gentle nudging the Invisible Hand will get the job done. For example, if you must buy one of those old 60W (actual power draw!) incandescent light bulbs, my local hardware store will sell you one, labelled "For industrial use", for only a little more than it cost ten years ago. However the superstore you're actually going to buy lamps in doesn't carry them any more, it just doesn't make economic sense. They have several different 8-10W LED lamps producing similar light output, often trading purchase cost versus efficiency (if you use more LEDs and balance them carefully they'll run longer and use less power to make the same light, but that costs money) but the only incandescents the big stores carry are specialist products for appliances like ovens. In my country it's hard to buy bathroom fittings (e.g. a shower or bath taps) that don't have thermostatic behaviour†. In applications where vulnerable people are expected to use them, thermostatic limits are mandatory, so if you're a plumbing trade outlet the products that don't have this are sometimes useless to your customers, "Nah, I need TMVs or it won't pass inspection" and then it makes sense, except perhaps for some budget lines, to only carry the version which is thermostatic. † A bimetallic thermostatic design is used, the "hot" supply is narrowed and eventually shuts altogether as water output temperature rises, so even though domestic hot water must be stored at e.g. 60°C the thermostatic valve can ensure the user never gets water above a set maximum temperature and thus they can't scald themselves or others (e.g. babies or old people)

Jtsummers 5y ago

Sounds like you haven't seen many headlines like that, then.

NikolaeVarius 5y ago

Please give examples

rgrieselhuber 5y ago
[flagged]
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
hunterb123 5y ago
Vaccine passports? Simply search headlines from 2020 about them, compare them to today.
version_five 5y ago
For better or worse, I have to point out that two people (at the time of writing) gave examples in response to this prompt and got flagged. Consider turning on showdead if you don't see them.
YATA0 5y ago
Not within six months, but I do remember Trump positing a future where rioters would be coming for Jefferson and Washington statues, and the "experts", "historians" and the media laughed at him [0]. "Here's why [Trump's] wrong." Not even three years later, Jefferson statues were defaced and torn down [1]. [0] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/statues-washington-jefferson-aren-t-next-it-s-complicated-historians-n793971 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/statues-washing... [1] https://youtube.com/watch?v=h00PbujTqqQ https://youtube.com/watch?v=h00PbujTqqQ

julienreszka 5y ago

Pretty accurate assessment

version_five 5y ago

cheriot 5y ago

This law in question does not go into effect until _2028_