>   In those cases, it was just one law overriding another law,


That gets +2 points, for dismantling what appeared to be a decent  
argument.

Jeremy


Sent from my iPod.
...because my other device is a BB Storm.

On Aug 20, 2010, at 12:30 AM, Harry Penner <hpenner at gmail.com> wrote:

> Actually the racism-in-America thing is a particularly bad example  
> of what you're trying to assert.  Assuming you're talking about the  
> Civil Rights Act, it was enacted at least in part to override  
> southern Jim Crow laws which codified discrimination.  In other  
> words, in at least some states the law actually *prevented*  
> employers, service providers, restaurants, etc from treating blacks  
> equally regardless of what companies wanted to do, be it good or be  
> it bad... didn't it?  In those cases, it was just one law overriding  
> another law, not a case of the government freeing us from the  
> (presumed) tyranny of the free market.  Just sayin'.
>
> On Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 5:06 PM, Mike Miller <mbmiller+l at gmail.com>  
> wrote:
> On Thu, 19 Aug 2010, J.A. Simmons V wrote:
>
> > When you sign a contract with your ISP, what do you expect in  
> return? I
> > expect a "tube" to the internet. I do not want a content provider  
> like
> > cable TV. I want a connection to what ever destination I want,  
> like a
> > freeway. Some people would rather have a content provider, and  
> that is
> > fine. Without regulations, both business models can exist through  
> the
> > free market.
>
> Not necessarily.  With a free market, you get what you get.  There  
> are no
> guarantees.
>
> For example, people used to say that a free market would solve the  
> problem
> of racism because companies that refused to hire people just because  
> they
> were black would not compete as effectively as companies that based  
> hiring
> decisions on ability alone.  It did not work that way.  Companies  
> avoided
> hiring high-ability black workers for a number of reasons (e.g.,  
> most of
> our customers are probably racists who won't want to work with a black
> sales rep).  It was necessary for the government to force companies to
> eliminate racial bias in hiring.  Government regulation was able to  
> fix
> what a free market could not fix.
>
> Yes, the regulation was a restriction on freedom -- the freedom of
> companies to hire an all-white work force, or the freedom of white  
> workers
> not to associate with black people -- but the same regulation  
> enhanced the
> freedom and opportunity of the black workers.
>
> Mike
>
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