Less Not More

An Economic Yokel  http://www.cafehayek.com/
Posted: 26 Aug 2010 03:25 AM PDT
"Here's a letter to the Washington Post:
Harold Meyerson can learn a valuable lesson from you. Yesterday you published an editorial opposing Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's effort to regulate abortion clinics more strictly ("The case against stronger abortion regulations in Virginia http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/24/AR2010082405688.html"). You pointed out that, because there's no strong evidence that these clinics pose undue dangers to women, it's bad policy to strengthen regulations that nevertheless will likely cause some clinics to close.
"Unlike you, Mr. Meyerson doesn't understand the necessity of weighing the benefits of regulation against its costs. For Mr. Meyerson, the recent egg recall is evidence enough that government must regulate egg producers more strictly ("The many sins of deregulation <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/25/AR2010082505965.html> ," August 26). Never mind that only a half-billion of the nearly 78 billion eggs annually produced in America are suspected of possibly being tainted with salmonella. That is, the percentage of annual U.S. egg output now thought to be tainted is 0.6 – less than one percent. I wonder how this percentage compares to the safety record of Virginia abortion clinics.
"The puny percentage of recalled eggs is hardly sufficient evidence to support the conclusion that American egg producers are such a danger to the public health that greater regulation is necessary.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux"