So many problems are caused by the paradox of the human predator. Tools to protect against the human predator are always eventually used as a tool OF the human predator.

Day 1: you create a regulation to stop some company from forcing employees to put their hands in a running wood chipper. Hurray, one predatory person has been stopped.

Day 2: A predator by hook and crook lobbies for a regulation to give them a competitive advantage.

Day 50: We've got 50 sincerely conceived regulations and 50 predatory regulations. Regulatory work has accelerated as the state has gotten better at it. Quite a few of the sincerely created regulations are meant to mitigate problems caused by the predatory ones! A call is sounded for deregulation.

Day 51: 35 regulations are thrown out based on lobbyist pressure and "grass root" campaigns.

Day 52: A company sends out a memo: "Due to the extra maintenance costs of hard stopping our wood chipper, we ask you now always leave it running. If it stalls on something the policy remains unchanged otherwise: pull it out."

It's an eternal arms race and I think the predators win almost always. We can't recognize or disarm them as faster than they can use our own methods and tools against us. As far as I can tell, oppose consolidation of power and work to never surrender leverage over yourself.

Closest ordinance i could find from a cursory search: https://library.municode.com/wi/wauwatosa/codes/code_of_ordi...

> Every person shall obtain a closing-out license before conducting a closing-out sale

Well, it is a regulation to ensure the business is intended to close. Instead of "going out of business" sign, what happen "big sale" sign every quarters? FWIW, I am not sure if that big sale is really a big sale with discounts. In fact, I have seen mattress stores claiming a price drop on the flyer for $850 but the regular price never stays - basically I am calling out certain stores lying about the regular price and promotional price.

Hehe, I haven't looked, so it may be apocryphal, but I believe there is a WAC (Washington (state) Administrative Code), that mandates that a business (possibly limited to furniture stores) may only have a "Going Out Of Business" sale once per calendar year.

It's always worth digging into the source material:

1) http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20091001/NEWS/910010317

> illegally untangling a humpback whale caught in his fishing gear.

> ... violating the federal Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Humpback whales were considered endangered species as the time. Certainly doesn't seem crazy to give extra care when handling endangered species

2) https://www.dps.texas.gov/RSD/PSB/Laws/psb_opin_sum.htm

> Computer repair or support services should be aware that if they offer to perform investigative services, such as assisting a customer with solving a computer-related crime, they must be licensed as investigators.

Sounds like the requirement applies to those who offer services that would be considered private investigation.

3) https://www.wired.com/2010/08/five-myths-about-philadelphias... provides a decent contemporaneous rebuttal.

Occupational licencing has grown into one of my pet peeves. I at this point cannot come up with a single example that would've get regulated by the market itself. For example nobody would go to a "surgeon" who never received actual training, no hospital would employ them and no insurance cover them. At this point I believe it's mainly a vehicle for incumbents to keep competitors out.

Great discussion as always on econtalk: http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2018/01/dick_carpenter.html

Honestly, I kind of like that second one. Even if computer repair techs shouldn't need licensing/training per se, I'd be happy to see them having to obey the strictures of some sort of Private Investigator's Guild, and be made to be unable to get a job in computer repair if they commit investigative malfeasance according to said guild. (Like, say, if they take someone's data and use it to blackmail them!)

> Eldridge

What actually happened is that he put nets near the whales, and then left one of them entangled in the cut off nets (so, probably killed this member of an endangered species due to his recklessness).

http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20091001/NEWS/910010317

> Texas

Again, the regulation here is that IF YOU ARE INVESTIGATING COMPUTERS, you need a PI license. If you're swapping video cards or reflowing solder or whatever, you don't.

> Philadelphia

There isn't any blogging tax. https://www.wired.com/2010/08/five-myths-about-philadelphias...

I've found that libertarian blogs which have these stories about oppressive regulation are invariably - 100% - lying. I've never found a true story about oppressive regulation. The reality is, no one is sitting around rubbing their hands together and thinking about all the ways to oppress the public for no reason.

While we’re opining on bad regs, my pet peeve for this week is Massachusetts law that requires any plumbing fixture installed in the state (that includes faucets, sinks, tubs, and toilets) be explicitly approved by the MA Board despite nationally accredited testing which would already have been performed.

Of course manufacturers need to apply for each product SKU individually and needs to resubmit every 3 years, and pay a fee of $150.00 per every 10 SKUs with a maximum of $1,500.00 with their application.

In response MA will cash their check and add a line item into a database (which they paid probably untold millions to build) and do absolutely no testing or certification of their own.

The typical solution is to simply stipulate that products must have gone through nationally accredited testing for XYZ and that the licensed plumber simply attests they have verified this is true for any fixtures they installed by checking a box on the permit form.

But you know, 100,000 product SKUs at $1.50 per SKU every 3 years is a pretty sweet money grab.

So much for ordering a $30 cold water fill from Amazon, I can pay Delta $100 for the same thing. Or, you know, install the Amazon version myself after the inspection is done.

Ditto for regs which technically make it illegal to install a light switch or new outlet with USB charging ports on in. Because, you know, screwing in 3 wires.

Ditto for regs on make-up air for over-range ventilation which doesn’t account for the actual tightness of the building envelope and type of vented gas fixtures which could conceivably backdraft. Wouldn’t want to make it too complex, let’s just cut big fucking baffled holes in the building envelope to “make-up” for every CFM over 400. I guess I can just disconnect the pressure switch after the inspector leaves.

Building codes are often quite sensible and important. But some states or even towns in particular turn it into a money grab.

Sigh, first world problems.

I doubt you vocalize your goal of driving competitors out of business when lobbying for some new regulation.

You don't personally enact regulations... those who do are the ones with the good intentions. To them, the regulations seem sensible and net-good... no matter how misguided it might happen to be.

I don't believe the regulations that were repealed addressed any of that.