Two regulating entities i deal with (and what seems daily :2razz: ) are OSHA and the EPA. At times they can be a real hassle but i do understand the premise behind them. About a year ago a kid who was working for me fell about 40 feet (from a man lift) and shattered his hip and pelvis. He tried to sue both me and the particular client (me for negligence, and the client for liability). I am really tight with an OSHA higher up, and he is well aware that i run a tight ship. Long story short, the kid did not attach his safety harness, leaned too far out the basket and fell on his hip. He tried to say that the equipment malfunctioned. But what he didn't know was that following the accident, OSHA did a little investigation and documented that no safety harness was in use, and there was no equipment failure. I never even had to go to court. Some regulatory bodies are a pain in the ass, but can be a real life saver when the unexpected happens.
As far as the EPA goes, many new companies attempt to dump their wastes (diluting agents, mixed paints, sand with a high iron oxide composition, oil, etc...) anywhere where people are not. I am not as concerned with the environment (although more recently i have become a bit more aware of what such practices can do) as i am with my compliance costs. It is about $150/ton to dispose of contaminated sand and i have to put a $5000 security deposit with the disposal company because it is less expensive to haul their container myself. The real expense is disposing more dangerous waste such as the leftovers of binary epoxy blends, xylene and MEK compounds, zinc based coatings, etc.... Disposal accounts to about 5%-7% of my total revenue. It pisses me off to no degree that i have to pay thousands of dollars a year in these costs, while other scab companies do what they can to avoid it. Without the EPA making their presence felt, such companies can easily underbid me and my more established competitors due to their lower costs to operate.
The market does not self correct in regards to this endeavor. Lower bids win, and some clients even attempt to get a lower price by "disposing" the waste themselves.
Not all regulation is bad regulation. It might be a pain in the ass at times, but without a doubt it is needed in my field.