2012-04-23

Regulations fall with social mood

We see a mix of authoritarianism and regulatory cuts during a fall in social mood as different segments of society have different reactions during negative mood. While NYC mayor Bloomberg wants to put a scarlet letter on the apartment buildings that contain smokers, other states are moving the other way.

Bareheaded Bikers Cheer Rules End as Fireworks Go Legal
Michigan this year replaced a 1931 law that limited retailers such as Captain Boom to selling sparklers and non- exploding fireworks, allowing purchases of all fireworks cleared by the U.S. for public sale. Also, for the first time in more than three decades, state residents 21 or older can legally ride a motorcycle without wearing a helmet.

...As states have run out of money and cut back on taxpayer services and support, citizens have gotten more resentful of regulations, said Nick Gillespie, editor-in-chief of online and video productions at the Reason Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that promotes free markets.

"What you're seeing is this push back on all these petty and arbitrary restrictions on everyday life," Gillespie said by telephone. "You don't get to run every detail of my life if you can't balance the budget. Suddenly things like regulating the size of barbers' waste baskets in Michigan don't make sense."

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