Stupid Laws And Why They Exist

This isn't about the usual stupid laws. Oh, it's true that it is illegal to catch fish with your bare hands in Kansas, and that Wyoming has a law forbidding you from wearing a hat that obstructs a person's view in a theater. In South Carolina you need a permit to be a fortune teller, and in Kansas City, Missouri, children can't legally buy toy cap guns, but they can buy real shot guns.

This article, however, is about laws that are not considered stupid by most people. This is about one particular class of laws and regulations - those that are supposedly for public safety, but are really intended to benefit some particular group. It sounds good to make laws that make people safe, doesn't it? More often, though, that is just an excuse for making money for some industry, or for bureaucrats who like to exercise control for its own sake.

The idea for the article came from the eye infection I have at the moment. It's a minor problem, and would be easily cured with antibiotic eye drops. I have used them before. No side effects, no problems. I would go buy some right now if I could. Unfortunately, stupid laws prevent buying such eye drops without a prescription from a doctor.

But those laws are to keep us safe, some of you will say. Really? It sounds reasonable, but let's look at the matter more closely. Here I am with an eye infection that could be easily cured with a $5 medicine. The laws, however, have made it so I have to make a doctors appointment and get a prescription. Now it is not only 16 times as expensive, but I don't have time. We are leaving for South America in a few days.

The result? I don't treat it. Is that safer? Before you say this is a unique case, think about how many people hesitate to spend a day off work and $80 to see a doctor to get that $5 medicine. There are millions here without insurance. So here is a law that is supposed to make us safer, but results in leaving an infection untreated (or at least results in making the treatment 16 times as expensive).

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