Tag Archive | "walter olson"

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Banning Bake Sales

Banning Bake Sales

The American Enterprise Institute held a panel discussion yesterday on food safety. They discussed congressional proposals aimed at addressing contaminants in our food, such as pathogens like Salmonella and E. Coli. Panelists actually agreed on a few things … well, actually, they agreed on what they don’t know.

First, no one could answer the question as to whether legislation would significantly reduce risks, nor could anyone determine where the real risks lie. And no one could provide an adequate justification for increased government action…

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Posted in Health and Illness, Precaution & Risk, RegulationComments (1)

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Regulate First, Think Never?

Regulate First, Think Never?

Twitter can be very useful. Walter Olson of Overlawyered.com sent out a tweet this morning about an Amazon list of toys that will be affected by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which comes into effect February 10. This new law aims to protect children from the harmful effect of lead in toys, but does so, as usual, in an expensive and ham-fisted way that ignores unintended consequences. Intrigued, I researched further and found a classic tale of regulatory incompetence, but…

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Posted in Environment, Nanny State, Politics as Usual, Precaution & Risk, RegulationComments (6)

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