'The eels were climbing out of the water to die'

Re:'The eels were climbing out of the water to die' by myrmidon on Thursday October 08, 2026 @11:59AM (#50007467)

I think you are being deceptive; the no-regulation alternative/cost to "setting up a middlemen network for responsibility diffusal" is not "bribing officials", it's nothing; companies just used to pump their toxic tailings slurry into the next lake/river/barely secured ditch at basically zero cost.

Having to pay those middlemen is a sign of the regulation working (because the cost for creating superfund sites is no longer zero), and all society has to do is increase enforcement rate/liability limits until the middlemen are more expensive than proper disposal.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'The eels were climbing out of the water to die' by cucumber3732842 on Thursday October 08, 2026 @12:19PM (#50007756)

You misunderstand. The "middlmen" I'm talking about are the firms regulation has brought into existence and/or drive work to. If you say that some firm that lab tests dirt samples is now on the hook for more money, or perhaps has more business driven to them. In any case cost for who's hiring them goes up and the "zero regulation" solution becomes that much more lucrative.

Like I said, going back to the pre-regulation ways isn't a solution, that was pretty bad too.

[ Parent | on HN ]