Comments on: Consumer Protection

By: The Best of Black Coffee: 43 of the Worst Personal Finance Articles of 2009

The Best of Black Coffee: 43 of the Worst Personal Finance Articles of 2009 — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:14:20 +0000

[...] an accident scene every once in a while? I wanted to highlight this article from Mr. Cheap, who confesses to a few really bonehead moves in his life. What were you thinking, Mr. Cheap? I mean really – letting an elephant stand [...]

By: Currency Conversion, Wills and Deals – Nov 15, 2009 | Million Dollar Journey

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:30:58 +0000

[...] Consumer Protection @ Four Pillars [...]

By: Black Coffee: My Favorite Blogs, Money News & Opinions #21

Black Coffee: My Favorite Blogs, Money News & Opinions #21 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:50 +0000

[...] I’d start off today’s edition of Black Coffee with this article from Mr. Cheap, who confesses to a few really bonehead moves in his life. What were you thinking, Mr. Cheap? I mean really – letting an elephant stand [...]

By: Len Penzo

Len Penzo — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:47:58 +0000

I’m on your side, Mr. Cheap. Well said.

Of course, I am a tried and true Libertarian so that should come as no surprise to those that know me.

We need less government babysitting and more personal responsibility and self-reliance. The government crutch is smothering us all and making our society weaker in the long run, not stronger.

Len
Len Penzo dot Com

By: -> Sharing Some Photos From Our Trip And Post Roundup | Bible Money Matters

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:59:46 +0000

[...] Do consumer protection rules go too far? [...]

By: DividendMan

DividendMan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:54:50 +0000

I agree with you Mr. Cheap. I think having the government as pseudo-parents to adults is ridiculous.

The government didn’t tell me that I need physical activity!
McDonalds made me fat!
Cigarettes gave me cancer!
My kids can watch violence and pornography on the internet and on TV, the government should restrict it! OR you could be an actual parent.

And to Rob, if somebody needs to be warned that falling off a cliff could kill you – I say jump and see what happens. We need some more natural selection happening.

By: Rob Bennett

Rob Bennett — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:52:49 +0000

I understand the point you are making, Mr. Cheap. It’s a libertarian point, in my assessment.

I don’t agree. I think we need consumer protections to maintain trust in our economic and political systems. It’s trust that holds the whole thing together. There was a day when we were more like the developing countries you describe. I think that part of the reason why we moved to more regulation is that, as we developed, the downside of not having those protections in place became more apparent. We made a collective decision that we can no longer afford the freedom to fall off a mountain without at least having to ignore a warning sign first.

I acknowledge that many of today’s protections take the logic I am putting forward to an absurd extreme. We don’t need warnings on our coffee cups telling us that coffee is hot. I blame problems with the legal system for the absurdities.

Rob