Legislating Safety

Back when Fannie and Freddie were being taken over by the government, someone on the local CBS radio affiliate said something like:

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exist so that investors’ risks are mitigated.

Or

Fannie and Freddie are there as insurance for investors.

or maybe it was a little simpler:

Fannie and Freddie are there so investors won’t lose money if loans are defaulted on.

Investment carries risk. The person on the radio seemed to think that Fannie and Freddie were there to guarantee to investors that there would be no risk. Just reward.

In Chicago, an alderman wanted to outlaw walking and texting because people were walking into buildings or other people or out into the street.

That reminded me of the “Blackberry Helmet” video

A little prescient don’t you think?

We all want to be safe. But do we really need to have the government mandate it?

Does that even work?

Look, you can tell someone that the stove is hot until you’re blue in the face, but they won’t hear you until after they’ve burned their hands.