isadore;1244644 wrote:the primary purpose of regulation should not be to add economic value but to provide protections from corporate abuses.
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But they should not unnecessarily destroy value, either. You can't ignore the cost side of the equation, or the efficiency/effectiveness. Regulation for its own sake is a money pit, just a pile of gubmit waste.
If 1000's died in plane crashes every year, the airline industry would be out of business. So the market can, and does, often sufficiently self-regulate. Voting with your wallet is a powerful force, unless you're a liberal because that concept does not create gubmit jobs.
Similarly it is foolish to regulate the airline industry to a point where there are no deaths or crashes in a year. I'm not willing to pay an extra $2000 per ticket for a trivially infinitesimal reduction in risk.
And the funny thing is, when industries can pass on the cost of regulations and lawsuits to the consumers - such as, I don't know, healthcare - people bitch up a storm. So, yes, we must consider the cost of regulation especially when consumers are picking up the tab (and likely do not agree with the necessity or effectiveness of said regulation, nor do they support being forced to pay it).