Unintended Consequences

This article talks about one of the (presumably) unintended consequences of the CPSIA: children's books printed before 1985 are presumed to be printed with lead-based ink, and therefore (by the logic of the law) not allowed to be read by children.  Thus, huge numbers of old children's books are being destroyed, rather than face the legal wrath of the CPSC.

In the article it says "almost no one has cared to consider the law’s broad array of unintended consequences, let alone ask what went wrong in the near-unanimous rush to passage of this feel-good law."  So here we have significant consequences, especially to thrift stores, those who by definition serve the poor most of all, due to a single, poorly-considered law.

Let's take that example and extrapolate it out to the mind-boggling size of the "stimulus" bill our Congress is foisting upon us.  Almost no hearings.  Almost no input allowed from the Republicans by the Democrats.  A panicked public push by the fearmonger-in-chief, pushing legislators to move faster than any bill of this size should reasonably require.  It's not difficult to imagine the crushing amount of unintended consequences this monster will produce.

One more note: the many lists that have outlined the many bad elements of the stimulus have come under criticism from some quarters because, it is supposed, the list-makers must hate those things that are being funded by this bill.  For instance, the NEA is supposed to get a chunk of money from this bill.  I oppose that.  Why?  Not because the NEA doesn't need more money--I don't know whether it does or doesn't.  What I do know is that funding the NEA is something that needs to be handled through standard budget appropriation procedures, not an emergency measure that was rushed through so quickly no one could have read the final version before they voted on it.