By Mike Stratton
Mike is a traveler, writer, and photographer who lives in Athens, Ohio. Below is his take on the dangers of too much deregulation. In an entirely different vein, to see vivid accounts of his far-flung travels, click on Mike's Place below.
Mike is a traveler, writer, and photographer who lives in Athens, Ohio. Below is his take on the dangers of too much deregulation. In an entirely different vein, to see vivid accounts of his far-flung travels, click on Mike's Place below.
Deregulation: Pyrrhic Victories?
If you are inclined to base your vote for candidates who promote anti-regulation legislation, just remember how enormous companies wield their influence to screw you over. And they always will, and that is why we need regulation and oversight. Equifax sponsored (lobbied) legislation in Congress this summer that would have limited their liability in the event of, you know, security breaches. So while they were spending millions to protect themselves from consumers in the event they screwed up, they were putting their customers at risk because they were too busy trying to gut the regulations that protect consumers.
This is what happens when politicians ask the public to trust big business to do the right thing on their own, instead of mandating and checking and checking again. Do you trust your 8 year old to brush their teeth before bedtime, or do you have to make sure? Do you trust your airline mechanic to fix the pitot tube correctly, or do you need the FAA to make sure? Wanna trust the food you eat, then be thankful the FDA is at least trying to keep farmers and ranchers honest.
Regulation and compliance are an enormous pain in the ass for big businesses (as it's expensive), but left to their own devices, history shows they generally do the wrong thing. So if you were one of the nearly 50% of American adults who had their data stolen from the company that was supposed to safeguard your data, then be thankful that their slimy summertime attempt to undermine your consumer rights failed. But they still lost your data, so that's the epitome of a pyrrhic victory.
This is what happens when politicians ask the public to trust big business to do the right thing on their own, instead of mandating and checking and checking again. Do you trust your 8 year old to brush their teeth before bedtime, or do you have to make sure? Do you trust your airline mechanic to fix the pitot tube correctly, or do you need the FAA to make sure? Wanna trust the food you eat, then be thankful the FDA is at least trying to keep farmers and ranchers honest.
Regulation and compliance are an enormous pain in the ass for big businesses (as it's expensive), but left to their own devices, history shows they generally do the wrong thing. So if you were one of the nearly 50% of American adults who had their data stolen from the company that was supposed to safeguard your data, then be thankful that their slimy summertime attempt to undermine your consumer rights failed. But they still lost your data, so that's the epitome of a pyrrhic victory.
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