Comments on: December 26 roundup

By: Ras

Ras — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 20:52:42 +0000

Do-gooderism is usually just power-tripping behind a fake smile.

By: MattS

MattS — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 21:17:46 +0000

In reply to ccscientist.

“So much do-gooderism is ill thought out and counter productive.”

Is there any do-gooderism that isn’t ill thought out and counter productive?

There ought to be a law against people saying “there ought to be a law…”.

Wait a second….

By: Heresolong

Heresolong — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 18:34:17 +0000

Huh. Bad enough that you needed permission to open, now you need permission to close? And people make fun of Atlas Shrugged.

By: ccscientist

ccscientist — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 16:05:21 +0000

The law that gas station owners must get permission to close is pretty insane. If you are going out of business, how can the rule stop that? Does it require that you keep losing money forever? This seems like clear overreach.

Rent control in NYC plays to “that’s not fair” emotions. The idea is that greedy rich landlords are charging too much and must be stopped by force. This logic requires that landlords have monopsony power over tenants and a cartel. There is no landlord cartel. The fact is rent is high because of government policy (building restrictions) as well as restrictions on landlords themselves. If you are forbidden from evicting tenants, then you are going to charge more to cover your risk. So much do-gooderism is ill thought out and counter productive.