Remember to show your work!
Posted by Ron Coleman on February 7, 2009
Item:
As far back as 2007, salmonella-laced products were shipped by a Georgia peanut company that knew the peanuts probably were tainted and sometimes after tests confirmed that contamination, inspection records show.
Federal law forbids producing or shipping foods under conditions that could make it harmful to consumers’ health.
For fifty points: Does this report, if true, make us more skeptical of the claim that the free market leads to safer consumer outcomes? Or does it makes us more skeptical of the claim that regulation and government leads to safer outcomes?
Do we say that consumers assume — incorrectly — that something wouldn’t even be on the market if it were dangerous, because “the government wouldn’t allow it”?
Or do we say this goes to prove we need a bigger, better FDA, because businesses are overall pretty comfortable with poisoning some percentage of their customers as long as the revenue keeps coming in?
Jan said
Neither. All this episode shows is that crooked people will find a way around any regs you want to propose. Until we start making people who are less crooked, the problem will never go away, no matter how free or tightly controlled your market is.
(Besides, anyone who assumes that the government has any degree of control over any situation pretty much gets what they deserve.)
Jan’s last blog post..Crinkled