When Everybody's a Potential Criminal

I have to agree with Glenn on the issues of too many laws and the misuse of prosecutorial power. He mentions three books about these issues.

I think society works best when there are fewer laws, more equitably enforced. Maybe we could start honoring politicians and bureaucrats for replacing existing laws with simpler, clearer and better laws, rather than for adding yet more laws to (just as one example) the Code of Federal Regulations.

At some point, the prospect of legal hazards starts to have too great an effect on people's willingness to take any kind of risk. Progress and innovation are greatly slowed. We have already passed that point in some areas. I imagine that finding out what laws they are expected to follow is especially daunting for someone contemplating starting a new business.

When I worked in Regulatory Affairs in the pharmaceutical industry, one of my duties was to review industry newsletters and printouts of proposed laws in the Federal Register (we got regular printouts of changed in the Federal Register and CFR from Information Services - they paid a fee for these summaries), We also reviewed news about foreign laws pertaining to our industry and worked with our subsidiaries to make sure we remained in compliance. The analysts held weekly meetings to discuss changes in laws and regulations. We were responsible for alerting other departments when we learned of laws or potential laws which could affect them - OSHA, EPA and other laws included. Occasionally, our company commented on proposed laws during the public comment period, or even dispatched a lobbyist to speak with a lawmaker concerning a proposed new law. What kind of small business person has the time or means to do something like this?

On the other hand, some State agencies get away with ignoring even well-known laws and regulations of which they are fully cognizant - OSHA, EPA, building codes - the types of laws ignored are varied. Even when they are caught in violations, it does not generally lead to many adverse consequences for those involved. After all, you often need permission from a government in order to sue it. And employees of State agencies who push for compliance with the law may become the targets of harassment and may even be forced out of their jobs. David has seen this more than once. One reason to decrease the scope of government responsibilities. When government focuses on its core responsibilities, it is more likely to do a better job with them.

Earlier post on the expansion of U.S. federal criminal laws here.