PM Series: Question 18

[RR1997]

The right to individual autonomy is important, even if it threatens collective security: Usually Agree

The government should penalize organizations that practice outsourcing: Agree (critical issue)

Giving faith-based charities the same government resources as secular organizations is a good idea: Disagree (not critical)

We should increase foreign aid to countries struggling with poverty: Agree (not critical)

We should increase funding for education: Agree (critical issue)

Heterosexual couples should receive higher marital recognition than same-sex couples: Disagree (critical issue)

Overall, free trade hurts more than it helps: Disagree (critical issue)

We should reduce the number of government programs substantially: Disagree (critical issue)

Abortion should be illegal or very heavily restricted: Disagree (critical issue)

The government should fund museums, theaters, and other cultural institutions that are unable to survive independently: Agree (not critical)

The government should subsidize health insurance for those who cannot easily afford it: Agree (critical issue)

The government should work to reduce children's exposure to offensive radio and television content: Disagree (not critical)

It is unfair that wealthier people pay higher tax rates: Disagree (critical issue)

The minimum wage should be raised: Agree (critical issue)

Marijuana should be legalized: Agree (not critical)

Society focuses too much on forcing equality at the expense of real merit: Disagree (not critical)

Violating individual rights is acceptable when it comes to fighting terrorism: Disagree (critical issue)

Current levels of government regulation on industry are excessive: ?

My opinion:
Agree (crit. issue)

[Illuminati Blood Drinker]

Disagree/Critical

[Miles]

Neutral, it depends on the industry.

[Deus Naturae]

Agree/Critical.

Even if you think things like finance or coal need more regulation, it's blatantly obvious that major industries like agriculture (production and prices are basically dictated by regional and local regulatory cartels), medicine (FDA rejecting potentially lifesaving drugs and massively increasing the cost of drug production), housing (zoning ordinances, lot size requirements, rent control, etc), and labor (occupational licensing) are too heavily regulated.

Then there's the fact that our current regulatory regime is undemocratic in the extreme. There are tons of regulations that are just decided by bureaucrats, commissions, agencies, etc with no approval from Congress. How are the people supposed to democratically evaluate regulations when so many of them are passed by appointed bureaucrats rather than actual elected officials? People are ignorant of the countless in ways in which regulation has just made us worse off. For example, the washing machine, a basic household appliance that advanced civilization, improved the life of the average person, and lifted the burdens of overworked housewives - ruined because bunch of bureaucrats decided they knew what was best for everyone. This is invisible to most people, and even if they knew about it, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it since it was put into place by Department of Energy bureaucrats, not actual legislators. Regulators just have way too much power and next to no accountability.

[ElectionsGuy]

Agree/Critical.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Agree/Critical.

[Never]

Agree/Critical.

[Gass3268]

Disagree/Critical

[TDAS04]

Usually disagree. 

[SNJ1985]

Usually agree. I didn't check it off when I took the PM test, but I'll say it's a critical issue.

[angus]

I agree.

I do not think of it much or regard it as a critical issue.

[RI]

Usually disagree.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Disagree/Critical

[Redalgo]

Usually Agree / Not Critical

[Flake]

Disagree/Critical

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Disagree (private industry should not exist)

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Disagree / Critical. 200,000 Americans die of pollution every year. There's no "free market" solution for that. The SD Republican party actually voted to impeach Obama for trying to enforce the Clean Air Act.

[Maxwell]

Disagree (private industry should not exist)

What a shocker, Snowstalker wants attention.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Usually agree. Critical issue.

What Nix said. The idea of regulations is not all that bad. The goals of them aren't either. The problem is they're difficult to follow and strange to administer.

[politicallefty]

Disagree, not critical.

Ultimately, there are some places where regulations should tightened. However, I also think there are some places were regulations can be loosened so as to become less complex and cumbersome. I do not support regulation for the sake of regulation.

[Supersonic]

Usually Agree / Not Critical

[Deus Naturae]

Disagree / Critical. 200,000 Americans die of pollution every year.

And how many others die of starvation thanks to agricultural regulation? I know I keep bringing that up but it really pisses me off how leftists who complain about people being unable to afford food say absolutely nothing about a regulatory regime that makes food so much more expensive and is just blatant corporate rent-seeking

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http://mises.org/daily/5978/The-Libertarian-Manifesto-on-Pollution

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Well, if they genuinely believe the Clean Air Act to be unconstitutional, it's their duty to impeach its enforcers, regardless of your view on pollution.

[Goldwater]

Agree

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

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http://mises.org/daily/5978/The-Libertarian-Manifesto-on-Pollution

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I don't want to sound harsh, but the "free market" solution for pollution seems to be one of the most blindly naive things I've ever read. And I'm a green, so I have experience with naivety. It's full of bizarre assumptions. That all pollution can be traced to one easily identifiable source, like a Captain Planet villain. That courts would treat the powerful and the powerless the same - that some obscure Bengal peasant farmer could sue Shell. That all pollution is local. That pollution can only be dealt with retrospectively. It just all seems so silly and illogical.