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Regulation is not a dirty word
In response to my recent post about regulation, Tim Knowles wrote a very thoughtful comment. In his comment, he detailed many of the criticisms people have leveled at regulation, and he pointed out, quite correctly, that without bad regulation, the right would be unable to attack regulations.
As examples of bad regulations, Tim pointed to his inability to get an antibiotic without a prescription. I have also had the frustrating experience of knowing exactly what medicine I needed but having to wait to see the doctor to get it. While I am not one to defend the FDA with our current opiate crisis, there are many examples of drugs that initially seemed promising that were kept off the market due to required regulatory tests.
Furthermore, we need to curb the use of antibiotics or risk their becoming completely ineffective due to the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria. One way to do that is through the requirement that people get prescriptions for them.
He pointed, again quite correctly, to sin taxes as examples of government efforts to control our lives. As someone who enjoys pop, my enthusiasm for higher taxes on sugary beverages is, at best, ambivalent. However, research has shown that the main reason smoking has decreased in our country, especially among young people, is due to high taxes on cigarettes. Smoking, by the way, is a true…
