The New York Times had a story about the
Unintended Consequences of Laws. These are very important ideas. I learned a long time ago that lawmakers need to pay attention to these. This is not a new idea. I learned about back in college (the 90s). There are lots of laws that encourage people to do things other than what the law is intended to do.
This is why I do not believe in passing symbolic laws. There is no point in passing them. They might come back and do something bad in the end. Why would I want to do something like that. I want my laws to be useful.
This is one of the reasons that I am not a fan of the Initiative Process. Many of these laws are poorly written or poorly thought through. I understand the point is to give regular people the chance to make laws, but most of the time that is not what is happening. Big interests are trying to go around the state house to get a law passed.
People need to think before they act. This is important when their actions have far reaching impacts.
Found this via a
Tantek Çelik TwitterLabels: Freakonomics, Initiative Process, law, New York Times
