ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (02/22/85)
Tim compares "consumer protection" laws and regulations to laws against theft and murder. He says: "There is no ethical difference between poking a gun in someone's ribs and taking their money, and deceiving them about the nature of their own actions, for personal profit." Here we agree. Fraud, in all its forms, should be illegal. However, the term "consumer protection" today encompasses a field much wider than mere fraud. It includes a wide range of laws and regulations that place limits on the sorts of contracts that can be made between consenting adults. Examples: It is now impossible to buy a lawn mower that is not gimmicked so that the blade stops turning as soon as you let go of the handle. Thus you must either restart the thing every time you let go, or pay extra for a clutch. I am not allowed to decide that I want to take the responsibility on my own shoulders. In New York State (this may be a Federal law; I don't know), if you buy something from a door-to-door salesman, it must be possible for you to cancel the deal within three days. This, of course, adds to sellers' costs, which in turn adds to buyers' costs. The losers are the ones who are sure they know what they want, who must subsidize those who are not sure. And, of course, there are the continuing efforts of the Federal government to force air bags into all our cars, despite overwhelming evidence that the buyers don't want them! "Consumer protection" is just a thinly disguised euphemism for creeping fascism.