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Comment by legacynl | Hacker News Reader

On the other hand, just because you can point to some regulations that exist, but you rather wouldn't, doesn't mean that regulation in itself is bad.

99% of cases, we started out without regulation, but then something bad happens what made us create the regulation.

In china everybody might be able to cut hair, but also anybody is able to drill water wells, and cause massive sinkholes and subsidence all across china. In china you can pollute all you want, and the citizens just have to deal with warnings about toxic air outside on the weather forecast.

Also I'm sure that if you were to ask an actual barber about that licensing they would be able to tell you plenty of good reasons for why that exists. It's not entirely impossible for a barber to screw up somebody's scalp when bleaching their hair for example.

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The situation in China is actually even worse. There are environmental regulations, but enforcement is easily evaded through bribes or CCP connections. Every so often there is a disaster that forces the government to start a much-publicized campaign. A few of the worst or least connected offenders get punished and then it's back to business as usual.

So really, if you're just anybody and start polluting, you'll quickly be stopped. Meanwhile the state-owned steel mill next door has been blasting out unfiltered coal exhaust for decades.

It is very difficult for us in the West to actually know truth from fiction when it comes to China.

I don't mean offence, but how would the average person (me) in the West know if what you wrote above is true or not?

Look for a broad-strokes summary of environmental laws in China [0]. Note the following paragraph:

> The standards detailed in the action plan focus on several harmful substances, including particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Each of these pollutants has defined permissible levels, which are critical in guiding both regulatory authorities and industries in their compliance efforts. Over the years, the Chinese government has intensified its efforts to monitor real-time air quality and ensure adherence to these standards

Now try to reconcile this with the actual air quality [1] [2]. Note that September is far from the peak, when it gets cold and dark the air quality in many megacities becomes off-the-charts toxic.

This leaves two possibilities: either the state is too weak or too corrupt to enforce these laws. Since the PRC is far from weak and its organs are very powerful, this only leaves one possibility.

[0]: https://generisonline.com/an-overview-of-pollution-control-a...

[1]: https://aqicn.org/map/china/

[2]: https://www.windy.com/-Air-quality-index-aqi?cams,aqi,40.255...

I ask every new barber I use why the regulation. The answer is the same every time: "You don't want your ear cut off by accident". But I know why the regulation exists: it's to protect existing barbers from unlicensed competition.

> But I know why the regulation exists: it's to protect existing barbers from unlicensed competition.

Ah okay, so you ask them why, and if they don't give an answer you agree with, you conclude that you're right anyway and they secretly have an ulterior motive? What kind of answer would be able to change your mind?

The barbers I talk to weren't the ones who wrote the regulation. I'm just curious about their personal opinion.

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