Friday, July 02, 2010

'Law pollution'- stop the insanity. Plus: ABQ firefighters get unwelcome news

'Law pollution'- stop the insanity. Plus: ABQ firefighters get unwelcome news

How many "laws" will be enough? I know I have mentioned this a lot, but it is because law pollution is an ongoing, and constantly increasing, serious problem.

I am hearing about a passel of new "laws" that just went in to effect in New Mexico. Each year, more and more "laws" are enacted, without the old ones being eliminated. "Laws" on top of "laws" until every breath you take is either mandatory or forbidden. Your inability to obey all the compiled and contradictory "laws" results in "crime" (obviously, by definition) which is used as justification for more enforcers occupying your home town. When will there be enough "laws"?

Not every "problem" needs a new "law" to making something else "illegal". Criminalizing everything solves nothing. There is no way to criminalize your way to Utopia. When the thought "there oughta be a law" occurs to you, remind yourself that, no, there ought not. No matter what the imagined problem might be. If it is wrong, it is already illegal. If it is annoying or potentially dangerous, deal with it like a self-responsible person.

There are no new wrongs. There is aggression, which has been illegal for thousands of years. There is theft, which has been illegal just as long as aggression. There is fraud, which has also been illegal as long as the other two. There is trespassing, which is also just as illegal and has been since time immemorial. Then gangs of thugs came along, set up shop among the productive people, claimed legitimacy and exempted themselves and their representatives from the laws against all the real wrongs, and started finding excuses to punish people for acts that were never wrong to begin with. That is not a recipe for a civilized society. It is, however, a perfect description of a government.
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Firefighters in Albuquerque are upset that the city is cutting their pay. This should just drive home the point that the current coercive way of providing "fire protection" is not anywhere near the ideal solution.

In my opinion, there should be free market competition, with people paying for what they need, from the provider of their choice. Voluntarily. Obviously, there are infinite ways the details could be worked out in a free society, but I have a few thoughts.

It could be handled like insurance, and any damages the fire department fails to prevent they would pay for. Therefore, prevention would be the driving motivation. Someone will invariably balk over "free riders", but that is a non-issue I have dealt with previously. It only "must be done this way" if you refuse to consider better options. The current system is just about the worst imaginable "solution". Time for a change.

(If the KOB article hasn't been corrected, notice that it says "...a district court judge recently ruled that the city can impose the best and final offer that comes up during negotiations if medication fails." I'd like to know what kind of "medication" that would be, and if it shows up in "drug tests". I kept a screen shot. It's good to find humor in reports of socialism and tyranny.)

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