The "health and safety" racket.
Where would we be without our wise overlords?
There’s something goofy about government health and safety regulations, the ones that supposedly keep bars and restaurants from poisoning their customers.
And I don’t mean the obvious error of relying on a monopolist to provide this “service”. If it were important, better its provision be provided by competing firms.
But even from the government’s own perspective — the one where bureaucrats are the only thing that can keep stupid citizens from poisoning each other with unsafe food and drink, government health and safety regulations don’t make sense.
The government makes it illegal to operate a restaurant or bar without paying for licenses and inspections, and receiving a “passing grade”. Try to skirt these laws and exchange food and beverages for money with willing customers? Boom. Right to jail
Let’s pretend that the purpose of these laws isn’t simply to enrich the state with fines and fees and create entrenched bureaucracies for government functionaries to feather their nests.
Let’s pretend that the purpose is to “keep us safe”.
Well, if that’s the case, where are the licenses, fees, inspections and “passing grade” stickers required for the windows of private homes if they want to feed guests for free?
Shouldn’t we be worried that anybody who goes over to a friend’s house for a drink or a dinner party is going to be harmed without the watchful eye of government there to keep everyone safe from poisonous malfeasance and negligence?
Is there something magical about exchanging food and drink for money that makes the practice more dangerous than doing so for free?
Of course, I’m not suggesting that your local overlords expand their corrupt scheme to include private residences, but you get the point. Whatever reason they have for pursuing health and safety regulations, it’s not to “keep the public safe”.
It’s almost like they are doing what they do to hurt us, rather than help us.
Perish the thought.
Naturally,
Adam
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I've never thought of this way of making this point. It's a good one. You could add "for the children" concerning parents preparing meals for their kids.
Flip side: they clamp down on our water usage, toilet capacity, etc. while letting businesses run massive amounts that dwarf anything we are doing. It would seem like whatever logic exempts us from home cooking regulation ought to extend to toilet capacity and sprinklers. Curious how it doesn't.