“Over-Regulating Things Like Asbestos is Counter Productive,” By Henry I. Miller.
Several years ago I participated in a colloquium whose title was something like “Advancing Technology: Thinking Outside the Box.” The presentations ranged from the ever-more imaginative uses of robots (fascinating) to irrigating the Sahara Desert for growing crops that by mid-century could sustain the planet’s burgeoning population (unconvincing). My lecture was the most mundane: I proposed that smarter and more risk-based government regulation of products, processes and technologies would act as what the military calls a “force multiplier” — a capability, tool or weapon that increases the effectiveness of your force and its ability to perform a mission. Read more.
