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Originally Posted by nature scene
Yet, what is proper regulation, as regulation often tends to create more problems? Who gets to decide what the proper amount of regulation should be?
The fact of the matter is that one person (or group) that has the power to regulate does not have the ability to comprehend all of the consequences of such regulation. Often said regulations can actually harm the intended beneficiaries in unforseen ways (A minimum wage increases unemployment among teenagers, one of the demographics it is supposed to help. The Endangered Species Act has actually given incentive for people who find an endangered species on their land to kill it before anyone finds out rather than face the financial burdens that come with government regulation. Zoning regulations make it so that only certain types of buildings may be permitted in certain areas, leading to what some people call "sprawl". I'll be happy to elaborate.)
Since those that are in charge of regulation are inherently self-interested (just as everyone else in the world) they will make decisions that serve themselves as well as the special interests that fund them. Regulation is corruption in the purest form. It is regulation that creates barriers to entry in industries, which reduces the competition and ultimately hurts consumers (which is everyone).
The argument that the market fails and thus intervention and regulation is required is a very tempting argument. However, further investigation often shows that the so-called failures of the market occured, not because the market was free, but because some aspect of it had been previously regulated.
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Regulation as corruption, i would disagree with u there. One powerful word is needed to proclaim the need for strong regulation..ENRON. If u saw the Enron movie, the one thing these crooks like Ken Lay mentioned as their sort of buzzword (and they're recorded saying these things) is de-regulation. They got rich off it. They cut off half of California's power supply to up electricity prices and de-regulation let it happen.So it would be strange to say we need less regulation. Regulation is definitely needed, else people,who are inherintly sneaky, make millions off unfair business practices. People are are supposed to trust the law. The regulators are the law, and people have to work at capitalism to reach fairness..not assume regulation, or the law, has a vested interest. That's misplacing the original intent. The original intent is to keep businesses from illegalities.
Wal-mart seems to be a good example of a co. that seems to get tons of strange perks that do not apply to other businesses. We mentioned one already, the state, which is ultimately us, covering workers health care. Regulation is definitely needed, which should be in essence, a level playing field for all. With co. like Enron, Haliburton, and Wal-Mart, we need more regulation.