Regulation?

A story in the New York Times today [Sunday, October 4, 2009] is about e. coli and hamburger meat. In part, it is about the government's attempts to regulate the testing of hamburgers, which of course is anything but just ground up beef. In fact, one of the safest ways to buy hamburger meat is to buy a steak at the supermarket and have it ground there. You know, the way it use to be done "back in the day." But, having just seen that alleged lunatic, Ron Paul, on the Daily Show, I got to thinking....or going crazy as obviously has happened to Ron Paul. I mean come on, someone who criticizes the government for printing money as needed to fund BIG GOVERNMENT and its huge social programs and all of its wars must be crazy. I mean that could never happen in "real life," right? Of course not!! No more than the government would bail out those responsible for our latest economic woes, while at almost the same time being unable to agree on health insurance reform because, get this, the reform cannot increase the deficit!!!! [This is the kind of thing that could give one a brain aneurysm!!!]

But, anyway, to pursue what must be my latest appearance of lunacy, I thought: Why all this business with trying to "regulate" the meat processing industry? Why not just pass laws making it a criminal offense to produce meat that can kill people or make them very sick? So, if Cargill corporation produces meat that renders a young woman paralyzed from the waist down, which is allegedly according the NY Times what actually happened and was the result I am told of Cargill meat products and I am told in even more than one case, the executives at Cargill would face criminal charges of, say, attempted murder or fraud. You know, it reminded me of a gig George Carlin use to do with regard to drugs. He would ridicule the government's decision to make drug dealing a capital offense because, after all, this would not deter drug dealers as they had already proven they are willing to die to deal drugs! "They are killing each other!" George would exclaim. Ah, George would say, but those bankers who are responsible for laundering drug money....They don't want to die, do they? So make it a capital offense to launder drug money and, guess what, the drug trade would shrink, if not disappear. Well, of course, George Carlin was just a comedian so we don't have to take him seriously. He was not one of our esteemed politicians, just a comedian.

Now, why then regulation, not criminal penalties? Perhaps because the oligarchy does not really want to regulate the food industry? But they have to pretend to regulate it because otherwise people will get upset, even upset enough to unelect the oligarchy. So, they bureaucratize their attempts at control - ala' in response to Ralph Nader in the 60s and 70s [Nader out of office can be controlled] - and when that fails, as it is sure to do [can't ever have enough inspectors to do a proper job], the politicians can blame it on the bureaucracy! "Hey, we tried. Take it up with the bureaucrats. Or, better yet, let's create another bureaucracy - ala' post 9/11 and Homeland Security or more FEMA-like power after Katrina - and that will take care of the problem." Cool, isn't it? And we are reminded once again that government is powerless to do certain things, like clean up our food.

But of course this would never happen in "the land of the free and the home of the brave," so I am now going to commit myself and try to drag Ron Paul along with me.