Free market regulation

Yay strawmen.

bordsilver said:
Importantly, when viewing from a free market or natural law perspective there is still "regulation". Being pro-free market or pro-natural rights does not mean being anti-regulation. Regulation naturally exists within businesses and between parties for many sound reasons. Instead, free market regulation means to not allow coercive restrictions on people's peaceful activities that do not interfere with the rights of others.
 
bordsilver said:
Yay strawmen.

bordsilver said:
Importantly, when viewing from a free market or natural law perspective there is still "regulation". Being pro-free market or pro-natural rights does not mean being anti-regulation. Regulation naturally exists within businesses and between parties for many sound reasons. Instead, free market regulation means to not allow coercive restrictions on people's peaceful activities that do not interfere with the rights of others.


Real life it is called, you read something in a book and seem to take it as the gospel truth without actually thinking about consequences of actions or people who don't follow the "rules" that are in your book.

Luckily people like you have very little say in how things are run :)
 
Newtosilver said:
Luckily people like you have very little say in how things are run :)

Yeah, its the people that lie, cheat and steal their way into positions of power that have a say in how things are run.

Talk about not living in reality...
 
Lol and I thought I was fairly Libertarian in my politics, but I sound like Karl Marx next to you lot :p

do the guys arguing against any government regulations for businesses and markets consider themselves minarchists or anarchists?

what are your thoughts on my original point that in a minarchist government with police and courts, poisoning someone would still get you locked up.

In an anachist society a private DRO rent-a-cop would Michael Brown you.

what difference is there from that and a business dumping lead paint in the water supply

in short shouldnt the same limitations on an individuals actions be the same for businesses and markets?
 
Berniemac said:
Lol and I thought I was fairly Libertarian in my politics, but I sound like Karl Marx next to you lot :p

do the guys arguing against any government regulations for businesses and markets consider themselves minarchists or anarchists?

what are your thoughts on my original point that in a minarchist government with police and courts, poisoning someone would still get you locked up.

In an anachist society a private DRO rent-a-cop would Michael Brown you.

what difference is there from that and a business dumping lead paint in the water supply

in short shouldnt the same limitations on an individuals actions be the same for businesses and markets?
The things you are raising are a separate issue to what I am talking about. As I defined at the start, "free market regulation means to not allow coercive restrictions on people's peaceful activities that do not interfere with the rights of others". Your examples are the realm of criminal conduct - ie where people's activities infringe on the rights of others. In a minarchy, the government can still have a geographic monopoly on being the ultimate arbitrator of disputes and a monopoly on Law while still having free market regulation. Indeed, the role of government in a minarchist society is to protect individuals from violence, fraud or theft and that's about it. It doesn't have the right to regulate otherwise peaceful activities such as stipulating the quantity of food a potato farmer can grow without being fined.

Whether or not peaceful, well-functioning societies need an organisation (ie government) to have a geographic monopoly on Law and ultimate dispute arbitration is a completely separate topic (as is the issue of "national" defence) which is what separates minarchy from nonarchy/voluntarism.
 
Businesses in Sydney already use threats to force desperate people to work illegal hours, sometimes for less than 50% of the award wage. I imagine things would get far worse without even token regulatory restrictions.
 
SilverPete said:
Businesses in Sydney already use threats to force desperate people to work illegal hours, sometimes for less than 50% of the award wage. I imagine things would get far worse without even token regulatory restrictions.
That's nothing. At times I work 36 hour days at zero rates without any threat of violence. (The issues with owning your own business where your income depends solely on the customer being satisfied.) [The difference of course is that unlike some other professions doing so does not create a physical safety hazard to the worker - ie me - or to others.]

More seriously, you are now into the realm of effective enforcement of laws against extortion or encouragement of safe work procedures. This is one of the legitimate reasons for unions. Separately however, as I posted in the medical care before the state thread, there would be a natural role for the worker's health insurers to take over such roles from government and their inspectors and recommend their own safe working practices/regulations (as happened in the past). The primary difference is that there would be greater competition with the money being paid directly by those who benefit.
 
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mljjcA3NtVo[/youtube]

John mentions Eat With, a restaurant in your own home. My wife tells me such for profit gatherings were common amongst workers in the industry in the past, but it was word-of-mouth and you generally knew the others or knew of them. There are two members in Australia, one in Manly NSW and one in Richmond Vic. I'm not sure how they circumvent liquor laws if they serve alcohol as part of their meal, there doesn't appear to be any Contact to ask questions.

http://www.eatwith.com/
 
Joined EatWith and sent them this email:

Hi

I have recently joined EatWith and have posted about the service on an online forum in
which I am active. I'm curious how hosts can circumvent liquor licensing laws if they
serve alcohol and guests are paying for an event.

Cheers

Their response:

Thank you for your note and your interest in EatWith.

In regards to licenses and taxes, because different countries, and sometimes different regions, have their own particular regulations, we unfortunately cannot provide any recommendation on this matter. Each host is responsible for managing his or her own legalities, taxes and regulatory compliance. If you have any questions, we recommend consulting with an accredited tax or legal advisor.

Tasty regards,
The EatWith Team

Any legal eagles here with an opinion?

As John Stossel says, it's unlikely the regulators are even aware of the existence of EatWith, so it'll probably be some time before any direction from them is given to the company or the hosts.
 
How a pharmacy monopoly pushes up your medicine price and makes pharmacies million dollar businesses

THEY are the taxpayer funded pharmacy millionaires, 941 chemist shops making more than a million dollars a year from a system that's hurting consumers and taxpayers.

A shocking audit report has revealed how the taxpayer funded $15.4 billion pharmacy agreement that stifles competition is turning one in six pharmacies into million dollar businesses.

The same system is forcing consumers to pay inflated prices for medicines and sees a $1.10 pack of aspirin cost a patient $13.31.

snip

Pharmacists can become millionaires because a government Community Pharmacy Agreement gives pharmacy owners monopoly status.

State rules say only a pharmacist can own a pharmacy and a ministerial determination in the Community Pharmacy Agreement bans supermarkets from containing chemists.

Location rules says no chemist can open within 1.5 kilometres from an existing chemist.

In some locations chemists are closer than this because they were established before the rule took effect.

It is these rules that ensure new pharmacy graduates can rarely afford to open their own because chemist shops often sell for over a million dollars.

There are more than 25,000 registered pharmacists but less than 4,000 pharmacy owners.

No chemist can open within 1.5 kilometres from an existing chemist. Picture: Toby Zerna Source: News Corp Australia

"Removing these location rules would allow new pharmacies, increase competition and thereby benefit consumers," says Melbourne University Economist Professor Philip Clarke.

http://www.news.com.au/national/how...ollar-businesses/story-fncynjr2-1227262606406
 
Medical licensing: political control over access

4/3/2015

0 Comments

BRIAN BEDKOBER

ABSTRACT: It is inevitable that a licensing process controlled by government must sooner or later result in the exploitation of the process to serve political ends. It ought also to be unsurprising when deliberate attempts to restrict entry to a particular trade or profession raises prices and creates turf wars whilst achieving very little in terms of patient safety. Regulatory controls inhibit innovation and they prevent patients from gaining access to a wider range of treatment options. In the case of health care, the features of a centralized licensing process are predictably exacerbated when they are combined with a universal taxpayer-funded health system. When government finds that it is simply impossible to fund all the health care promises that it has made it necessarily restricts access to care on a collective basis including access to the best trained providers.

AUTHOR: Brian Bedkober is a medical doctor who served as the National President of the Private Doctors of Australia, which started in 1968 as a break-away group from within the Australian Medical Association. The organisation took umbrage at the AMA's readiness to negotiate with government on matters that were considered beyond the proper scope of government control.

http://jppfaustralia.weebly.com/subscribe.html
 
The Livingstone Shire Council has rejected a development application for a new shopping complex opposite an existing one. Council in their wisdom believe that the proposal would adversely impact other businesses.
SOME residents and business owners won't have a bar of a proposal for a new shopping precinct on the Capricorn Coast.

Before Livingstone Shire Council today is a proposal to develop a section of land, on the corner of Percy Ford St and the Scenic Hwy, where the Poinciana Caravan Park is located, into a nine-shop precinct.

The proposed development is for shops, offices and takeaway food stores, plus parking.

This did not fly well with several business owners, including some at the Cedar Park Shopping Centre, Taranganba, shopping precinct.

They believed that any developments near their businesses would result in economic losses.

An Urban Economics review, conducted on behalf of a group opposing the development application, found adverse impact would happen at other shopping centres.

The review revealed there was a 15% vacancy rate at Cedar Park Shopping Centre....

http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/rival-retailers-reject-shopping-centre/2720313/

The Cedar Park shopping centre would be directly across the road from the development proposal. All I'll say is that you'd only buy from the Cedar Park supermarket as a last resort ($$$$$$$$), so the consumer misses out because Council is protecting established businesses.
 
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1kS1W9tLB0[/youtube]

Summary:

Product regulation

- Explores the assumption that without governments, TV's would blow up and we'd have rat poison in our food, yet there are many industries that experience improvements in quality or increasing consumer satisfaction occurs without any government regulation.

- Individual consumers have preferences about where they want to be on the "spectrum of product characteristics" whether it is a price point, a design feature, a safety feature, longevity, intended usage etc etc. Product regulation restricts choice.

- The FDA and the barriers to entry it creates in delaying consumer access to new beneficial drugs in the name of safety testing. The regulatory process drives up costs and favours incumbents at the expense of new market entrants.

- The interest of profit provides the incentive to supply a safe product.

- The introduction of safety regulations can shift the risk to another situation ie may result in consumers being exposed to other unsafe practices, it may also lead to the belief that regulated substances are dangerous which can deter use.

- alternatives to product regulation: private certification, user reviews, reputation

- the free market is not infallible, there is no Nirvana, only the capacity to better meet consumer need.
 
I'm an Acorn user so I'd thought I'd share this letter from George Lucas, the Managing Director of Acorns Australia (and possibly the father of Darth Vader), check out the second screen shot in particular:

753_screen_shot_2016-03-07_at_43101_pm.png


snip

753_crest.png


Source: http://blog.acornsau.com.au/post/140607114170/our-letter-to-the-hon-malcolm-turnbull
 
The local IGA is classified as a small supermarket, it apparently has restrictions placed upon it as to how many employees are on a given shift at any time. I'm told they have a limit of 20, regardless of how busy it becomes.
 
Follow up to Acorns, received an email today, highlights the fact that legislated regulation may not be able to keep pace with the changes in technology/needs of consumers in a modern market place. In other words, it's outdated:

As you may be aware, I wrote to the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, (4 March 2016) about the ePayments Code, and how the banks were playing fast and loose with the truth when telling consumers that their internet banking login details should not be disclosed to third parties, such as Acorns.

This is an important issue as most of our users provide their internet banking details.

It was Acorns' opinion that the banks were overstepping the mark and now correspondence I have received from ASIC would suggest the regulator, at the very least, has sympathy with our point of view.

Without going into all the details, this was positive news because of the following points ASIC made:

ASIC acknowledges that the messaging from banks about not sharing your login details with third parties is from the early 1980s, when ATMs were introduced, and is out of date in the new world of apps such as Acorns.

Edit to add: I'd hazard a guess that there are some members on this forum who weren't even a twinkle in their father's eyes in the early 80's.
 
Interesting website. The authors challenge anyone to identify, using experimental evidence, conditions under which their Iron Law of Regulation does not hold. In other words, to show that a regulation increases general welfare.

Studies proposed as providing evidence must:

- Use laboratory, field, natural, or quasi-experiments to compare effects of alternative policies, which includes doing nothing
- Describe the conditions to which the findings apply
- Develop an experiment to test existing or new regulations.

Iron Law of Regulation said:
There is no form of market failure, however egregious, which is not eventually made worse by the political interventions intended to fix it.
 
Here are the conditions a regulator must meet in order to increase general welfare (See discussion in Armstrong & Green (2013):

- Know stakeholders' endowments, relationships, and preferences. People are unaware of how they make decisions in many areas of their livesincluding as consumersas was shown by Nisbett & Wilson (1977).
- Determine in detail how the situation could be changed to the benefit of those affected
- Design to produce the intended changes
- Design to avoid unintended changes (e.g. graft, reduced competition, and suppression of innovation). "Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder."George Washington
- Resist pressures to modify the rules in ways that would reduce the net benefit
- Ensure that those affected by the rules know and understand them
- Establish rewards and punishments that ensure that the rules are followed
- Establish fair procedures for resolving disputes arising from enforcement of the rules
- Change rules when the situation changes (e.g., due to inventions or natural disasters)
- Keep the administrative costs of the rules below the value of the benefits.
 
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