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The information on Groklaw is not intended to constitute legal advice. While Mark is a lawyer and he has asked other lawyers and law students to contribute articles, all of these articles are offered to help educate, not to provide specific legal advice. They are not your lawyers.

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Err... really?! | 397 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
Err... really?!
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, November 18 2012 @ 01:01 PM EST

Do you remember when babies started to die because formulas were mixed with toxic substances that thinned milk? It was in China, where the government doesn't bother to regulate much at all. Remember when the dogs and cats in the US started to die because pet food was contaminated in China factories? Remember the sheet rock that killed people?

Yes, I remember that. I also remember that regulated companies here have put out tainted products. The compounding pharmacy with the fungus tainted steroid comes to mind. Nothing is ever going to prevent every accident or even every act of malfeasance. And should I remind you that the government in China is much more involved in everyone’s life and business that they are here? I would not be surprised if the head of the company and others are not still rotting in a Chinese prison cell or dead.

Saying that government has no right to regulate companies is to say that the above incidents are nothing the government should stick its nose into. But most people can clearly see, without a PhD, that this is *exactly* where the government should get involved, because only it has the power to make it stick, and since the government is just us, the people, our representatives, we ask it to do things that will protect us, our babies and our pets. Etc.

Whoa, back up the chart, PJ. I did not say the government has no place in regulating companies and their products. I said, “Government has a place, but this is not it.” That is a statement within the context of the current discussion about mandating cell phone reliability. And I stand by that. Government has a place, but it is not the only or always the best solution. And I believe mandating cell phone companies is not a good solution because it is easy to see how the free market can provide an answer should the demand truly exist.

You are arguing that a company's private interest in making money with interference is more important than everyone else's private interest in not getting sick or losing pets and children. ANd that is preposterous.

I would not be so quick to look down your nose at the profit motive. Stop, look around you. Almost everything you have was provided because someone had a profit motive. The car you drive, the toilet you pee in, the food you eat, the medicine you take, the computer you type on, the clothes you wear, etc. Really, look around you. Now think about the government being in charge of providing you all that. Yes, government has a role, but that role can never be to keep you and your pets absolutely safe. You could regulate everything down to the size of the eyelet on your lace up shoes, but it comes at a huge cost. We should not always jump to “there ought to be a law or regulation” whenever we encounter a problem. Each and every law or regulation takes a bit of our liberty. We need to consider very carefully each and every one (something that is simply not done by our legislators and regulatory bodies) before it is implemented. That doesn’t mean no regulations, but it does mean only the ones that are absolutely necessary.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Err... really?!
Authored by: rsteinmetz70112 on Sunday, November 18 2012 @ 11:26 PM EST
China remains one of the most controlled economies on earth, control is not
aimed at helping the people of China, but at helping the Chinese State.

Ultimately any organization without internalized perceived external threats
becomes more about perpetuating itself than preforming its intended functions.

---
Rsteinmetz - IANAL therefore my opinions are illegal.

"I could be wrong now, but I don't think so."
Randy Newman - The Title Theme from Monk

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

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