If a barber is going to use a straight razor, then perhaps some evidence of successful training is a good idea. But hair braiding and electric clippers?
It's not the danger of the implement that matters. Serious question: do you think the food inspectors keep you from getting poisoned by your local restaurant? Or do you think there might be something else, some unseen forces at work that you might not have considered? I'll add a few more questions for you to think about: did people die, or get sick in large numbers, of poisoning by unlicensed/uninspected food vendors in ancient Rome? Do people die in vast numbers of food poisoning in China - where you can't find a food inspector anywhere, if they even exist? If not, why not? In answering those questions there is also the answer to your question about the "danger" of unlicensed razor blade use to cut hair or shave someone.
BTW, I agree with nearly all the arguments in your post. Regulatory Capture is a really big deal.
It's just that there are flaws in all the alternatives. Liability fails for several reasons. Juries
are selected for dumnitude and the arguments are made by people even more conflicted than bureaucrats. Also, it is hard to equate risk of death with monetary damages. Maybe if we adopted the City of Refuge idea for CEOs who dump risk on the world and oops people die, the court approach would work. But that's not what we have.
Nassim Taleb wrote extensively on the subject. I REALLY like the idea of requiring those in charge of a nuclear power plant or oil refinery to live closer than anyone else and downwind. Surround nuclear power plants with a delightful golf course community and have those in charge of the power plant live in the surrounding mansions along with their families.
But this is not what we have. And Taleb's dedication to both Ron Paul and Ralph Nader is interesting but not convincing. Ralph Nader is more responsible for ending American Greatness than any other single human.
Private certification can sometimes be excellent. The organic food movement is a good example. But, alas, it's easy to astroturf such certifications.
Libertarians like the idea of unlimited liability and using insurance companies as the regulators. Alas, this too suffers from the problem that investors at an exchange such as Lloyd's of London lack both information to equate risk with dollar values as well as the proper mindset.
A system of tedious government regulation is easier for capitalists to navigate than a system of money based liability. With regulation, you know what the rules are beforehand.
I'm not saying the regulation is the best solution. I'm saying that there is a bigger burden of proof on the anti-regulators than is advertised in the libertarian movement. And there are regulatory wins. US air is much cleaner than China air. Nuclear power is both incredibly safe and incredibly regulated. Some dialing back of regulation so that nuclear could replace dirtier tech would probably be a net gain in safety -- but the exact dial back point is not an easy calculation -- Black Swans and all that.
But regulation is only a tolerable solution if it is truly adversarial with some restrictions on the regulators. Regulators should not be allowed to work for those they regulate!!
And those who despise tedious regulations should absolutely, positively, criticize bad regulations -- of which there are many thousands. That too, is part of the adversarial process.
Having inspectors issue grades is much more effective than legal/illegal. When the state of North Carolina started giving number grades to restaurants, they cleaned up bigly.
And no, I absolutely do not trust the restaurant business or the food processors in general. Vegetable oils are being left in deep fat fryers way too long and/or are being used on high temperature griddles which cause instant cross-linking. I have been served "butter" that was actually margarine more times than I can remember.
This country is being slow poisoned. I am greatly looking forward to RFK Jr. looking into it.
--
As for ancient Rome, I suspect food poisoning rather common. And then there was the practice of adulterating wine with sugar of lead.
Meanwhile, a Chinese company bought Smithfield Foods. Compared to China, the US does have a reputation for quality in the area of food safety.
I am having a conversation with a guy in England regarding the licensing of Engineers. In the US, you don't need a license to work as an engineer, but you do need a PE license to sign and seal plans, schematics & etc. for approval from the governing agency in the state your working in. Every drawing for a federal government project has to be sealed. Years ago, in order to be hired at Raytheon you either had to be licensed, or at least be an EIT (Engineer in Training). Counting college, it takes 8 years to be eligible to sit for the PE tests (there are 2). I don't know if that's still true a Raytheon, but I was pretty impressed at the time.
But, as I understand it, in England there is no one responsible for maintaining standards. The safeguard is insurance...kind of like tattooing here, lol.
I am 100% for government small enough to drown in a bathtub, but I aver I do feel a bit better that someone is watching over the construction of nuke power plants.
Be impressed by results and performance, not degrees or certifications.
I know self-taught carpenters who can build custom furniture the likes of which no union certified foreman could dream of doing. I know Amish woodworkers who can do things that a standard homebuilding crew couldn't touch. I'm not saying its entirely unimportant, but see my response above to Fabius. There are other things going on and "certs" and diplomas are "shortcuts" offered as proof of... something. Getting at that "something" and understanding how it fits into the larger picture is important.
If a barber is going to use a straight razor, then perhaps some evidence of successful training is a good idea. But hair braiding and electric clippers?
It's not the danger of the implement that matters. Serious question: do you think the food inspectors keep you from getting poisoned by your local restaurant? Or do you think there might be something else, some unseen forces at work that you might not have considered? I'll add a few more questions for you to think about: did people die, or get sick in large numbers, of poisoning by unlicensed/uninspected food vendors in ancient Rome? Do people die in vast numbers of food poisoning in China - where you can't find a food inspector anywhere, if they even exist? If not, why not? In answering those questions there is also the answer to your question about the "danger" of unlicensed razor blade use to cut hair or shave someone.
BTW, I agree with nearly all the arguments in your post. Regulatory Capture is a really big deal.
It's just that there are flaws in all the alternatives. Liability fails for several reasons. Juries
are selected for dumnitude and the arguments are made by people even more conflicted than bureaucrats. Also, it is hard to equate risk of death with monetary damages. Maybe if we adopted the City of Refuge idea for CEOs who dump risk on the world and oops people die, the court approach would work. But that's not what we have.
Nassim Taleb wrote extensively on the subject. I REALLY like the idea of requiring those in charge of a nuclear power plant or oil refinery to live closer than anyone else and downwind. Surround nuclear power plants with a delightful golf course community and have those in charge of the power plant live in the surrounding mansions along with their families.
But this is not what we have. And Taleb's dedication to both Ron Paul and Ralph Nader is interesting but not convincing. Ralph Nader is more responsible for ending American Greatness than any other single human.
Private certification can sometimes be excellent. The organic food movement is a good example. But, alas, it's easy to astroturf such certifications.
Libertarians like the idea of unlimited liability and using insurance companies as the regulators. Alas, this too suffers from the problem that investors at an exchange such as Lloyd's of London lack both information to equate risk with dollar values as well as the proper mindset.
A system of tedious government regulation is easier for capitalists to navigate than a system of money based liability. With regulation, you know what the rules are beforehand.
I'm not saying the regulation is the best solution. I'm saying that there is a bigger burden of proof on the anti-regulators than is advertised in the libertarian movement. And there are regulatory wins. US air is much cleaner than China air. Nuclear power is both incredibly safe and incredibly regulated. Some dialing back of regulation so that nuclear could replace dirtier tech would probably be a net gain in safety -- but the exact dial back point is not an easy calculation -- Black Swans and all that.
But regulation is only a tolerable solution if it is truly adversarial with some restrictions on the regulators. Regulators should not be allowed to work for those they regulate!!
And those who despise tedious regulations should absolutely, positively, criticize bad regulations -- of which there are many thousands. That too, is part of the adversarial process.
Having inspectors issue grades is much more effective than legal/illegal. When the state of North Carolina started giving number grades to restaurants, they cleaned up bigly.
And no, I absolutely do not trust the restaurant business or the food processors in general. Vegetable oils are being left in deep fat fryers way too long and/or are being used on high temperature griddles which cause instant cross-linking. I have been served "butter" that was actually margarine more times than I can remember.
This country is being slow poisoned. I am greatly looking forward to RFK Jr. looking into it.
--
As for ancient Rome, I suspect food poisoning rather common. And then there was the practice of adulterating wine with sugar of lead.
Meanwhile, a Chinese company bought Smithfield Foods. Compared to China, the US does have a reputation for quality in the area of food safety.
Great article, wish we lived in a country where people actually were capable of reason, logic and critical thinking.
Thanks, Hat.
Welcome, deserved.
I am having a conversation with a guy in England regarding the licensing of Engineers. In the US, you don't need a license to work as an engineer, but you do need a PE license to sign and seal plans, schematics & etc. for approval from the governing agency in the state your working in. Every drawing for a federal government project has to be sealed. Years ago, in order to be hired at Raytheon you either had to be licensed, or at least be an EIT (Engineer in Training). Counting college, it takes 8 years to be eligible to sit for the PE tests (there are 2). I don't know if that's still true a Raytheon, but I was pretty impressed at the time.
But, as I understand it, in England there is no one responsible for maintaining standards. The safeguard is insurance...kind of like tattooing here, lol.
I am 100% for government small enough to drown in a bathtub, but I aver I do feel a bit better that someone is watching over the construction of nuke power plants.
Be impressed by results and performance, not degrees or certifications.
I know self-taught carpenters who can build custom furniture the likes of which no union certified foreman could dream of doing. I know Amish woodworkers who can do things that a standard homebuilding crew couldn't touch. I'm not saying its entirely unimportant, but see my response above to Fabius. There are other things going on and "certs" and diplomas are "shortcuts" offered as proof of... something. Getting at that "something" and understanding how it fits into the larger picture is important.