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I am sorry; I used "regulation" jokingly when referring to government enforcing contracts -- one of the few legitimate uses of government force, and one which t

I am sorry; I used "regulation" jokingly when referring to government enforcing contracts -- one of the few legitimate uses of government force, and one which they only grudgingly protect. I should have been more clear; enforcing contract law is (unfortunately) the only "regulation" that the government should enforce, but does not (or only grudgingly). My father in law has been an industrial electrician for 40 years, and there have been relevant standards for much longer than that. Standards are not necessarily regulations. And for this whole time, buyers of electrical products and installations could choose to contract for -- and enforce -- any electrical Standard THEY chose. Not one selected by some bungling government employee. For example, if you choose to buy a CSA approved ladder, that is your choice -- you have knowingly chosen to purchase a product that complies with a certain set of standards. However, you may choose to buy a ladder from me, which I build to a higher set of standards. Should that not be your choice? Or, do you wish to make "CSA approval" a regulation for ladder manufacturers. If you opt for universal ladder "CSA approval" regulation, have you increased or decreased your safety?

bmelton 18y ago
I think the point is that nobody knows, yes? The word you omitted is that you 'claim' to build your ladder to a higher set of standards. As it isn't measured against CSA regulations, or independently verified in any way, then unless we perform rigorous testing ourselves, we have no way of knowing how safe or unsafe we are. Even in the event that we properly test your ladder to the point of breaking, and are satisfied that its breaking strain was significantly great, we have no assurances that the replacement ladder we purchase from you was built to the same high standards as the demo. So, while I agree with your initial arguments that contract law ought to be more enforceable, I think this argument confuses regulation with standards. Under your original argument, your faulty ladder could only get away with the 'CSA approved' lie for so long until it was sued out of existence. If your ladder were superior, one would assume that either word of mouth, market forces, or superior marketing would get you rewarded appropriately.

bmelton 18y ago

I think the point is that nobody knows, yes? The word you omitted is that you 'claim' to build your ladder to a higher set of standards. As it isn't measured against CSA regulations, or independently verified in any way, then unless we perform rigorous testing ourselves, we have no way of knowing how safe or unsafe we are. Even in the event that we properly test your ladder to the point of breaking, and are satisfied that its breaking strain was significantly great, we have no assurances that the replacement ladder we purchase from you was built to the same high standards as the demo. So, while I agree with your initial arguments that contract law ought to be more enforceable, I think this argument confuses regulation with standards. Under your original argument, your faulty ladder could only get away with the 'CSA approved' lie for so long until it was sued out of existence. If your ladder were superior, one would assume that either word of mouth, market forces, or superior marketing would get you rewarded appropriately.