As free citizens it is our duty to protect ourselves from harmful substances, etc. We do this by educating ourselves and making wise choices for ourselves and our families. I was recently talking to a loved-one about a new regulation in her state. The regulation was lobbied by a person whose business would benefit from the regulation, it would -in fact- give them a monopoly. Of course, when it was lobbied for, the proposed restricted practices were painted as a horrible risk to the public at large, when in reality the practice had a long, consistent history of success. The interesting fact that many seem to overlook when getting regulation-happy in their voting is what an insult it is to the general populace to say that the government must step in to "save" them from making these decisions for themselves. This reasoning presupposes that the general populace is ignorant and cannot think and choose for themselves. How many regulations that are now suffocating the enterprises that could be nourishing our countries failing economy were put in place in the guise of protection? And did we and our representatives consider the motives and personal gains of the people lobbying for the regulations when we presented our votes? Regulations can be a back door to sate and federally endorsed monopolies.
Why should we care if there are monopolies? The competition between businesses drive those businesses to keep prices low and offer goods that the public wants and needs. When there is a monopoly in any industry, the owner of that industry can charge whatever price he/she wants because there is nowhere else to get it.
The bottom line, we need to take responsibility, educate ourselves and stop expecting the government to step in like a parent and instead empower ourselves by limiting regulations and maximizing our own education.
