Today's Freakonomics blog has an interesting post about government regulations. It contrasts new FDA regulations about sunscreen to a proposed new rule from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about table saws.
The FDA just issued new rules standardizing the labeling of sunscreen. This is intended to allow consumers to make informed decisions. In contrast the CPSC is considering requiring that all new table saws come equipped with "SawStop," a feature that "senses if the spinning blade is starting to contact human skin and slams the blade to a halt within a few thousandths of a second."
The first requires manufacturers to provide standardized information, but doesn't force consumers to do anything. The second requires manufacturers to include a feature in their product and also forces consumers to buy it--something like seat belts.
In both of these particular cases, I think that these are the right decisions, but I can imagine that others might disagree.
-- Russ Abbott
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