Living Dangerously in a World of Underregulation
Unfortunately, the natural recourse for failure in this country is a call for greater regulation.
Witness Barney Frank’s new financial oversight committee in December. Seriously? Is a new financial agency really the panacea of the financially-illiterate American? Now Mr. Bernanke wants greater Fed control.
“Stronger regulation and supervision aimed at problems with underwriting practices and lenders’ risk management would have been a more effective and surgical approach to constraining the housing bubble than a general increase in interest rates,” Mr. Bernanke said in remarks to the American Economic Association.
While increased regulation will aid some financial weak points mostly it is a patch for something more problematic. Elder Christofferson hit the problem on the head in a recent conference talk.
The societies in which many of us live have for more than a generation failed to foster moral discipline. They have taught that truth is relative and that everyone decides for himself or herself what is right. Concepts such as sin and wrong have been condemned as “value judgments.” As the Lord describes it, “Every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god” (D&C 1:16).
As a consequence, self-discipline has eroded and societies are left to try to maintain order and civility by compulsion. The lack of internal control by individuals breeds external control by governments. One columnist observed that “gentlemanly behavior [for example, once] protected women from coarse behavior. Today, we expect sexual harassment laws to restrain coarse behavior. . . .
“Policemen and laws can never replace customs, traditions and moral values as a means for regulating human behavior. At best, the police and criminal justice system are the last desperate line of defense for a civilized society. Our increased reliance on laws to regulate behavior is a measure of how uncivilized we’ve become.”
In most of the world, we have been experiencing an extended and devastating economic recession. It was brought on by multiple causes, but one of the major causes was widespread dishonest and unethical conduct, particularly in the U.S. housing and financial markets. Reactions have focused on enacting more and stronger regulation. Perhaps that may dissuade some from unprincipled conduct, but others will simply get more creative in their circumvention. There could never be enough rules so finely crafted as to anticipate and cover every situation, and even if there were, enforcement would be impossibly expensive and burdensome. This approach leads to diminished freedom for everyone. In the memorable phrase of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, “We would not accept the yoke of Christ; so now we must tremble at the yoke of Caesar.”
Listen to the talk here:
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No amount of regulation will ever be enough to capture all loopholes. Evidence A. Look how Wal-Mart saves itself from taxes.
Behind every crappy law there’s a well-meaning politician. And lately I feel like there are a lot of politicians. Especially when it comes to childs and child seats.
This video will blow your mind. I’ll cut to the chase: child seats are no safer than seat belts.
Car seats = overregulation (Steven’s got the data to prove it).
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