Regulations: how I think we should talk about them.

[flamin lib]

Regulations are actually PROTECTIONS. Each and every "regulation" was created to prevent some harm or threat of harm. The Environmental PROTECTION Agency is charged with enforcing regulations to prevent harm to life and health. Banking regulations are written and passed to prevent financial institutions from harming customers.

At the most basic level traffic laws are REGULATIONS that prevent reckless drivers from harming the rest of us. Can you imagine how exciting the drive to work would be without them?

Every regulation was created in response to some particular threat. Every one of them. Proof of that threat had to be produced before anyone would vote for it or approve of it.

So I propose that when anyone talks about rolling back REGULATIONS we respond with, "No, those are protections that were created to protect us from something. Show me that the 'something' no longer exists and we can talk." I think we need at least as much evidence that a threat is gone to justify removing a regulation as was presented to pass it.

[unblock]

1. i think the sports metaphor works reasonably well. flag on the play for infractions or violations.

like officials in a sports game, they're just there to make keep the game from getting out of hand.

can they get a call wrong from time to time? sure, but the game would be an unwatchable mess without them.

they keep the teams from cheating and doing underhanded things that aren't really what the sport is intended to be.