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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

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Wonderful rant by Mike Rivero

So, an mp3 file which now costs 90 cents will soon cost $2.00 becauser of the costs for all this new enforcement and legal process.
This seems to continue a trend in which the United States makes less and less and compensates for it by adding more and more pointless layers to each product to run up the price.

So, the owner of the cattle farm decides he wants to sell the manure for fertilizer, but the government imposes a ban in just shoveling it into a sack and requires testing the cows for contagious pathogens, then the manure itself for parasites, then to make certain that the manure contains the USDA minimum required things that manure is supposed to have, then OSHA stops by to make certain the correct shovels are being used to harvest the product and that the bags are "up to code" for the estimated weight of the manure they will carry. Lawyers then stop by to inspect the manure and make certain that it does not conflict with the intellectual property rights of the farm down the road which sells a similar product. Great care is exercised in regards to the "look and feel" of the product and that it conform, to industry standards! Finally, the graphics and design on the bags are checked to make certain they represent the contents accurately and do not offend any recognized minority groups.

And in the end, the product is still the exact same thing. It is a sack of shit. But because of all the tinkering added to it in order to employ a bunch of lawyers and bureaucrats who otherwise would be on the unemployment lines, it is now an OFFICIAL (and very much more expensive) sack of shit. And the farmers who need to buy that sack to fertilize their own crops will pay a higher prices, which must then be passed onto their customers (along with all the overhead from the lawyering and plastering of government stickers they themselves must endure).

This is why American products cost so much more without being any better, and why you pay far more for prescription medicines than the Canadians do, or why dentists in Mexico can do a better job but cost far less than here in the US. You are not paying for just the medicine, or the dental bridge, or the sack of shit; you are paying a huge markup for all the regulatory jobs created out of thin air to conceal the fact that the United States just doesn't manufacture much of anything any more. We are a nation running in circles and trying to look busy, without actually getting much of anything done.

This new law on mp3s will not stop the pirates. It is just a way of conning the law-abiding consumer into forking over more money for their products under the illusion that paying $20 for a $5 bag of shit makes them morally superior to the rest of the world

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Obama Launches Rule Review, Pledging to Spur Jobs, Growth

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama plans a government-wide review of federal regulations, aiming to eliminate rules that stymie economic growth.

In an article published in the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Obama said he intends to issue an executive order initiating a review to "make sure we avoid excessive, inconsistent and redundant regulation," focusing on rules that "stifle job creation and make our economy less competitive." He also suggested future regulations must do their job "while promoting economic growth."

The move is the latest effort by the White House to repair relations with corporate America, hoping to spur investment by the nation's largest multinationals and reduce unemployment.

Business leaders say an explosion in new regulations stemming from the president's health-care and financial regulatory overhauls has, along with the sluggish economy, made them reluctant to spend on expanding and hiring. Companies are sitting on nearly $2 trillion in cash and liquid assets, the most since World War II.

President Obama: Toward a 21st-Century Regulatory System

In recent weeks, the administration has made new efforts to push stalled free-trade agreements with Korea and others through Congress, and signaled its eagerness to consider an overhaul of the U.S. corporate tax code. The president invited chief executives to the White House last month, where they formed task forces to work on specific issues, including export growth and taxes.

On Feb. 7, Mr. Obama will visit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—a chief opponent to his administration's regulatory approach—for a discussion on how the White House can work with the group to create jobs. The efforts are designed to give companies more confidence in the president's stewardship of the economy, and bolster his re-election prospects among a wealthy constituency not traditionally allied with Democrats.

In Tuesday's article, the president defended his administration's efforts to strike "the proper balance" between protecting the public and not interfering with economic growth.

The president said the government sometimes failed to meet its "basic responsibility to protect the public interest," citing the run-up to the financial crisis. He also acknowledged the cost of regulation and said that sometimes "rules have gotten out of balance, placing unreasonable burdens on business—burdens that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs."

He also said: "Where necessary, we won't shy away from addressing obvious gaps: new safety rules for infant formula; procedures to stop preventable infections in hospitals; efforts to target chronic violators of workplace safety laws. But we are also making it our mission to root out regulations that conflict, that are not worth the cost, or that are just plain dumb."

Journal Community

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“ This is good news if in fact he delivers. It should help remove some of the anxiety that business owners have felt and add jobs. ”

—Ed Teixeira

For close to a year, the White House has been asking leading business groups in the capital to identify regulations they believe are obstacles to job-creating private investment. But these efforts are being dwarfed by complaints about the administration's unfriendly rhetoric toward the financial industry and large corporations, and regulations stemming from its legislative agenda.

Even some of the president's corporate allies have joined criticism of the White House's regulatory and tax policies. The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executives of many of the largest U.S. corporations, last year compiled a 54-page report that includes proposals to streamline rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Communications Commission, among scores of others. It was accompanied by public criticism from the Roundtable, whose members have frequently advised the White House on the economy.

At the same time, the administration faces pressure from the left not to appear to be too close to Wall Street and corporate interests. Liberals were irked most recently when Mr. Obama tapped political veteran and J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. executive William Daley as his chief of staff.