Mamdani pushes for something I agree with!

[Loulit01]

That book was fiction. Sinclair never witnessed anything that happened in that book, nor did he ever claim to.

Outright lies.

Thread 'The Jungle, Regulatory Capture, and Self-Interest'

Dec 4, 2022

Probably the best argument against government regulation is the fact that the incentives facing individual government regulators are all backwards.

Consider two different government regulators who oversee large corporations. We'll call them Joe and Bob.

Joe doesn't make life easy for the corporations. He makes decisions based on what's best for society. He will receive zero recognition for this, and when he retires, he will have his government pension.

Bob does his job much differently. He chooses to "play ball" with the executives of the corporations he regulates, and in...

• aociswundumho
• Replies: 143
• Forum: Government Regulation

• 

 

[maquiscat]

No it can't.

Prove it. Why does a vendor need a license in order for a health inspector to come up and check for health violations?

 

[Slartibartfast]

Prove it. Why does a vendor need a license in order for a health inspector to come up and check for health violations?

A registry or even an inspection certificate submitted with city taxes would probably work just fine. Routine health inspections, without licensing, would probably be something the private sector could take over easily enough, so long as there is a way to shut down a food truck immediately if an inspection fails (which can be done easily enough with some regulations) until the situation has been resolved.

 

[Loulit01]

Prove it. Why does a vendor need a license in order for a health inspector to come up and check for health violations?

Without permits or licenses, vendors can set up anywhere, anytime. How are inspectors supposed to find them? How will inspectors know which have, and which haven't already been inspected? What's to keep vendors from fighting over the best locations? There's no permit giving the location to a specific vendor. The best locations might be overrun with vendors, blocking traffic, undercutting prices, selling inferior quality food. Mislabeling food as organic when it isn't. It's chaos.

Pretend you live in a city. Just make believe. Now imagine if anyone could be a food vendor and set up anywhere they want, selling anything they want, without permits. How would inspectors find people who move around? How will they know if a particular vendor has been inspected if they can't write the permit number in the report? Don't permit fees pay for the inspectors?

The whole thing's ridiculous and I need to learn to stop wasting my time on crap like this.

 

[Gozaburo]

Then don't buy food from them and you'll be safe.

Or I’ll just use the power of the state to prevent it and watch you impotently seethe, which is far more satisfying.

 

[jmotivator]

He actually wants to roll back a tiny piece of the vile, wealth-destroying, authoritarian, progressive regulatory state.

The video below is about permit scalping, which is one of many, many, many forms of regulatory rent-seeking. In the reform bill he mentions, Mamdani wants to decriminalize unlicensed street vending, which is awesome. The bill probably won't pass, but he's got the right idea at least. Here's the bill he supports. Adams vetoed it, but it's not dead yet.

1) Decriminalize Unlicensed Street Vending
2) Wait for a case of Personal harm from an unlicensed street vendor
3) Use that case to criminalize street vending in the name of public safety
4) Funnel people into your city run grocery stores

 

[What if...?]

Whether allowing unlicensed vendors is a good idea or not, it has nothing even remotely to do with communism.

Kinda the opposite, isn’t it?

 

[ataraxia]

I'm an adult, why can't I buy food from whoever I want? Why should I be limited to only those approved by the government?

Because if you're visiting NYC and getting hungry, it would be nice not to have to guess if the particular vendor's food you are walking past is safe to eat.

 

[Peter]

Now explain why food safety standards have to require licensing. I fully agree with the need to ensure that what is sold needs to be health inspected, randomly and periodically. But that can be done without the need to have every vendor get a license.

What's stopping them from just saying they have high standards while just not giving a shit without oversight?

 

[weaver2]

Well, if you can't explain it, maybe you don't understand it either.

A person that chooses the name "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one dumb whore" is obviously not interested in why food sellers need licenses and food needs inspection.

 

[maquiscat]

What's stopping them from just saying they have high standards while just not giving a shit without oversight?

What's stopping who? The safety inspectors? What is there in the vendor not having a license that would prevent an inspector from seeing the vendor on the street and doing a surprise inspection? Or to twist it the other way, how does having the license prevent an inspector from being corrupt and taking a bribe to look the other way as already happens

 

[Peter]

What's stopping who? The safety inspectors? What is there in the vendor not having a license that would prevent an inspector from seeing the vendor on the street and doing a surprise inspection? Or to twist it the other way, how does having the license prevent an inspector from being corrupt and taking a bribe to look the other way as already happens

The vendors.
We have to have some basic level of trust in hygiene standards and we know vendors will take the piss if we let them.
Government oversight is the best way to keep everyone safe.

 

[maquiscat]

Without permits or licenses, vendors can set up anywhere, anytime. How are inspectors supposed to find them? How will inspectors know which have, and which haven't already been inspected?

In my city, we have licensed street food vendors who have no set location. At best they might develop a pattern, but there nothing requiring that. And yet somehow inspectors have no problem finding them when they need to. As to the last question, a certificate, along with details in a record book (or computer file) can show when the last inspection was done.

What's to keep vendors from fighting over the best locations?

Not part of the question I asked. Strawman fallacy.

There's no permit giving the location to a specific vendor.

There isn't now with many municipalities.

The best locations might be overrun with vendors, blocking traffic, undercutting prices,

Another strawman having nothing to do with my question

selling inferior quality food. Mislabeling food as organic when it isn't. It's chaos.

Again, how does a lack of license prevent a health inspection? Are you saying that a health inspector sees a street food vendor, goes up and says he's going to do a random inspection, and the vendor points out he has no license and that stops the inspection?

Pretend you live in a city. Just make believe. Now imagine if anyone could be a food vendor and set up anywhere they want, selling anything they want, without permits. How would inspectors find people who move around?

Many move around now.

How will they know if a particular vendor has been inspected if they can't write the permit number in the report?

A piece of paper issued by the inspector with the inspector's ID number on it or something similar. And yes such could be forged, but so can an inspection when licensed as well, not to mention the bribe possibility

Don't permit fees pay for the inspectors?

Somehow I doubt that the fees would cover all that was needed for inspectors.

 

[Chomsky]

I'm not because it has a lot more to do with health inspections.
It hurts vendors who are legally licensed and insured.

This way they'll all be licensed.

 

[Chomsky]

We are two peas in a pod on this.

Not that unusual . . .