SamuelRSmith said:
| marley said:
Whether or not you agree has no affect on what reality is. There are already a number of workplace and consumer rights put in place through legislation, and safety is definitely one of them. There is a consumer bill of rights that has existed since the mid 1900's. The United Nations has adopted a broad range of consumer protections and it's watchdog agency is headquartered in London. You should be grateful for these protections, because they have most certainly made your life better and safer in countless ways.
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Rights don't become rights just because some legislator says they do. Rights are a product of natural law. Rights are something that exist without government. Notice how, for example, in the First Amendment, it's worded that Congress shall not "infringe" on certain rights. It doesn't say "granted". That's because the founders acknowledged that freedom of religion, freedom of speech, etc., existed before they wrote the Amendment, and would continue to exist in absense of all Governments.
Tell me how these so called "consumer rights" could be "enforced" in the absense of Government, then you have convinced me that they are rights.
As for bolded, please don't tell me to be grateful for bullshit. They may have made my life better in some ways, but they've also made my life worse in many others.
Federal regulations have made you 75% poorer.
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Why don't you tell me how ANY rights are 'enforced' in the absence of government? Those rights are protected and guaranteed by law, and without government you likely wouldn't get to enjoy any of them. Just because some legislatures "acknowledged that freedom of religion, freedom of speech, etc., existed before they wrote the Amendment", does not make it fundamentally different than legislatures acknowledging that certain rights exist after they wrote it.
There were governments and laws before the constitution was written. Legislatures came to the conclusion that people had those rights when writing the constitution. Later, legislatures came to the conclusion that consumers also have rights. It really is no different.
Without consumer rights, you'd get screwed on a daily basis. You would have no rights to a safe product. There would be lead in your baby's toys. There would be no labels on your food. There would be nothing to prevent monopolies and price gouging. There would be no safety regulations in your workplace.
The article you linked to is complete conjecture. It's no more accurate than a Pachter prediction. The economy 'might' have grown at a larger rate if workers were only paid $1.50 an hour, but you wouldn't be any wealthier because of it. Companies run sweatshops to make money on the back of helpless people. They are not benevolent. Without consumer and employee rights they'd have the same practices here. Income (adjusted for inflation) is considerably higher today than it was in the 1940's. The only reason wages were even at a decent level in the 40's, is because that's when unions forced a compression in income inequality.
Just because the economy 'might' not grow as fast under certain regulations (not the consumer and employee safety regulations we're discussing), does not mean that YOU are 75% poorer. China has a booming economy because of it's lack of regulations, but most people there live in extreme poverty. Their economy is much larger than yours and yet most people live on a few dollars a day. The average take home is $200 a month. They suffer through extreme pollution. Their consumer products are not safe (poison found in dog food & toothpaste, defective tires, tainted milk, etc.). They work on their feet for 11 hours a day, every day, with only 1 day off a month. They have such nightmarish working conditions that workplace suicides are common.
Yes, you most certainly should be grateful for that 'bullshit'.
