Nothing is airtight

Reader comment on: Infantino Baby Sling Recall

Submitted by benjamin Geballe (United States), Mar 24, 2010 21:51

How often are there airline crashes in the US? Since 1970, there was fewer than 1 crash per 3 million flights. that is pretty safe. That is not the "illusion of safety." With Madoff, this speaks to having quality people at the SEC, and having regulations in place that are enforceable. President Bush (and Clinton to a lesser extent) were not interested in regulating the financial industry. As a recent op-ed in the Times suggested, if we treated financial regulators more like the foreign service, we could attract a higher quality person to actually put the regulations into effect. I agree that regulations are worthless if we don't enforce them, but this is a poor argument for why we shouldn't have them in the first place. It is a strong argument for getting better people in place to be sure people follow the regulations.


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The Future of Capitalism replies:

Were the regulations in Europe or the regulators there similarly lax? Can't blame Northern Rock or the European bankers who sent clients to Madoff on Clinton and Bush. Even good people screw up sometimes, they are human. The treatment of commuter airlines in Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" is worth some thinking through if you think the FAA is a success story.

Other reader comments on this item

Title By Date
⇒ Nothing is airtight
[w/response] [144 words]
benjamin GeballeMar 24, 2010 21:51
probability argument does not hold, we are individual parents [108 words]fatherMar 25, 2010 05:56
Of course people screw up
[w/response] [37 words]
benMar 25, 2010 08:02
Profit motive
[w/response] [303 words]
benjamin GeballeMar 24, 2010 20:36

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