tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204289.post143833328904226695..comments2024-03-28T12:12:45.202-05:00Comments on Independent Country: Just laws, cop abuse, and the arrogance of Eric GarcettiAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11620822221586726516noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204289.post-34621304826082178542016-07-15T23:45:40.585-05:002016-07-15T23:45:40.585-05:00Great insights. Thanks!Great insights. Thanks!James Leroy Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05658977123542740075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204289.post-59658873108962903702016-07-12T08:27:15.412-05:002016-07-12T08:27:15.412-05:00Who does Eric Garcetti think he is think he is to ...<i>Who does Eric Garcetti think he is think he is to make it illegal for people to take jobs at wages they are willing to accept?</i><br /><br />This is indeed the central point. More generally, who do politicians think they are when they pass laws criminalizing any sort of peaceful, consensual behavior among adults? Yet my sense is that most people never ask themselves the question, "What limits, if any, should there be on government(s), as long as laws are passed with good intentions?" There is disquiet whenever someone asserts "None of your business!" It seems to bespeak (to most people's minds) an unhealthy obsession with oneself and one's own selfish desires, rather than to the community as a whole, where it belongs.<br /><br />And of course, most people cannot reconcile a frank devotion to self-interest with a person who also gives willingly to charity.<br /><br />Even crazier, if possible, than minimum wage laws are laws against "price gouging" during weather or other crises. Crazier, because at least minimum wage names an exact figure in dollars and cents as a floor, but price gouging laws are vague of necessity. Many prices, constantly varying, represent what any given product was sold for before the crisis; what's the maximum permissible price after the crisis hits? And the sanctimonious "You must provide for me" mindset that these laws foster, yecccccch. But I ramble. Great column.JdLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00630104950043758864noreply@blogger.com