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datsci_est_2015yesterday at 9:06 PM3 repliesview on HN

> being against dumb regulation that only ads unnecessary bureaucracy or stops/limits progress

Does such strawman regulation even exist? Some regulation is intentionally designed to limit “progress”, where “progress” happens to have negative externalities.

It’s kind of a self-legitimizing opinion. Of course anyone would be against unnecessary regulations. I think the real world is not arguing about whether a regulation is necessary, but rather if the economic burden it creates is worth the positive impact it has on society, which is highly contentious, highly subjective debate.


Replies

homer456today at 12:55 AM

It takes a minimum of 600 hours of training to get licensed to cut hair in California.

Pex plumbing is banned in Chicago as a union protectionist regulation.

The "chicken tax" regulation scheme has screwed up the US truck market for decades.

Electrical code requirements for the wiring of kitchen islands have changed drastically with very small justification within a short span of time.

To this day it is illegal to trade onion futures in Chicago due to an attempt to corner the market on onions decades ago(probably over a century can't be bothered to check).

Many European countries have draconian laws about air conditioning that are killing people this summer.

The affordable care act is written in such a way that the only way for insurers to increase their profit margin on health plans is to increase the cost they pay out to providers ("gold plating")

CAFE fuel economy standards have lead to the arms race of increased vehicle sizes for unnecessary reasons.

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autoexectoday at 5:46 AM

> Does such strawman regulation even exist?

Yes, the DMCA is a great example, but corporations write those regulations and bribe government to pass them. That's not really an example of evil government as much as it is an example of evil corporations, although it does illustrate how much work is needed to limit the influence of money in politics.

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braiamptoday at 12:55 AM

Only the regulation that doesn't evolve with the time or written so that it stays within the confines of a context that doesn't exists. Certain big country constitution is a prime example of that.