Thursday, March 10, 2011

Sen. Rand Paul Takes on a Toliet Nazi



This guy is amazing.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

According to "Ms. Hogan"(?) the president and a bi-partisan congress came up with many of these energy standards and product requirements, so that should suffice for consumer choice.

9:37 PM, March 10, 2011  
Blogger Andrewfm said...

If everything was left to consumer choice, how many bad for us products would still be available to the consumer?

Leaded fuel, mercury in everything, lead in our paint, cfc's in our aersol spray cans, DDT bug spray (great for killing bugs and the pelicans.) Cars would be a lot cheaper if we didn't have all that damn government mandated safety equipment, like seat belts and air bags. The Cuyahoga river would still be able to catch on fire. And while were at it let's through out OSHA standards, cause really, it's more important for a company to make money, than to have a safe work environment for the people who work there.

So not everyone likes all the regulations imposed by the government, but over all the regulations are there to improve the quality of life, even if you don't see the impact directly

5:39 PM, March 12, 2011  
Blogger Mark Moore (Moderator) said...

The information I have is that more people have died from a resurgence of Malaria now that DDT can't be used on the mosquitoes than died from DDT.

And as long as paint is ID as leaded, what's wrong with consumers making their own choices as to the risks? Why does my barn or the hull of my boat need to be painted with only lead-free paint?

Same with car safety equipment. The government acts in ways to make personal automobiles out of reach for the average American. Mandating safety items that in a better world would be optional is one of those ways.

Your river example is flawed unless one person owns the whole river and the ocean it flows into- Paul is not suggesting that he should have the freedom to pollute the property of others. He is arguing that he should be able to decide what level is acceptable in his own property.

OSHA is mostly a waste of money as well. Common Law would better protect workers.

Most of these things you think are designed to protect us from whatever "company" are actually being used by companies to bilk us. Some company makes a "green" light bulb or car safety equipment, and instead of spending money marketing to you they find it much cheaper to bribe "your" congressman to make the purchase of their products mandatory!

8:46 PM, March 12, 2011  
Blogger Andrewfm said...

DDT - yes it kills mosquitoes very effectively along with other animals. There has been a resurgence in malaria, but it is also still used in some countries around the world.

Lead paint, if you had the option to use it, would you remove it if you were to sell your home? Lead chips have a sweet taste and that is why kids eat the paint chips, and are effected by the lead. Your choose could possibly have an impact on someone that wouldn't have the same choice.

Car safety, I don't necessarily like that it adds thousands of dollars to the price of a car, but I like that an airbag saved my wifes life in a car wreak recently.

The river example was a bit extreme and not followed thru. The gist is that many modern materials have toxic byproducts in the process of making them, and if a company can make them cheaper in a coutry that is more laxed than the USA, and the price of cleaning up the toxic is not factored into the price of the item, then it's going to be cheaper, and consumers like cheap prices.

OSHA - there is good and bad with this, and there is over kill, but in countries without regulations in the work place, let's just say I'm glad I don't have to work there.

Low flow toilets, some people may not like them, and yes some of the early models were not that good, but over the billions of gallons of water flushed on a daily basis in America, saving almost 50% water, that is a huge savings in water and money, even if someone has to flush 10 times like Mr. Rand says he does.

As for light bulbs, please join the 21st century and get a bulb that saves energy, the variety is there to cast the same quality of light as the old incandescent bulbs. If you don't want to change just because it's a change then I don't have any sympathy, if you'd worried that the old way of life is dissappearing, well that happens.

If someone doesn't lIke the way the government is imposing rules and relations on the people, there are several was to fight back, run for public office and change them, civil disobedience and break the law, move to another country, and other ways.

My main point is that if I had control, things would be different and I'm pretty sure that many people would not like me, but we live in a society were we can't always get our way and other people do stupid things. That is part of society, some times having to live by rules and regulations that don't seem to make sense. In America you can run for election to try to change things.

My wife chimed in with: " isn't it great the that we live in a country where we are free to bitch about things as much as we want"

7:56 AM, March 13, 2011  

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