"Safety That Kills" by Jacob Sullum, Reason, p 20, March 1997, available from 3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 400, Los Angeles, CA 90034-6064, reports that a commission headed by Vice President Al Gore has caused annual airline regulation for terrorist control to rise in cost by over $8 billion already, with a final estimated annual cost of $22 billion when fully implemented. The commission was formed in response to the crash of TWA Flight 800 even though the crash has not been proved to have been caused by terrorists. Assuming that all airline sabotage is stopped by these measures, the regulations would already be costing $200 million per life saved (37 per year) were it not for the fact that an estimated 60 additional lives are lost annually in auto accidents involving people who drive rather than fly as a result of the higher regulatory costs. The net effect of Gore's commission appears to be the expenditure of about $400 million per person to kill 23 Americans each year. Fully implemented, Gore's regulations will kill people at an estimated $1 billion each.
"Flies before the people" by Ike C. Sugg in Ike Wall Street Journal, P A20, February 11, 1997, reports that the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly has received protection from U. S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina, a Clinton appointee, under the Endangered Species Act. Judge Urbina wrote that "The government has offered uncon- troverted evidence that the Fly is, and would likely continue to be, an article in interstate commerce. " It turns out that, prior to listing, a total of five flies were sold at a price of two dollars each. As a result, the Fish and Wildlife Service has demanded that an eight-lane section of Interstate 10 near San Bernadino, California be shut down - or at least its traf& slowed to 15 miles per hour during August and September. A hospital is now one year behind in construc- tion, and San Bemadino County has now spent $4.5 million to accom- modate eight flies that live on the hospital's property. They have relocated the hospital and are funding biological and behavioral studies of the fly - which lives above ground for two weeks each year.
The Pacific Northwest was inundated with unusually heavy rains this winter that caused wide-spread flood damage. Oregon state enviro bureaucrats have seized upon this opportunity to nudge the state's fanning industry one step further toward extinction.
If the storm blew the roof from your house, you are entitled to fix it. If the flood left several inches of silt in your living room, it is acceptable to shovel it out. If, however, the flood damaged an irrigation water diversion dam for your farm - even though the dam has been in use for over one hundred years and you have a legal right to water your farm, you are required to ask the Water Resources Department, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Army Core of Engineers for permission to repair the dam. The fine for not doing so is $10,000, and it is evident that many applications will be denied. Sensing a new revenue source, the bureaucrats have airplanes and helicopters flying continu- ously over the streams and rivers in Southern Oregon in an effort to catch fanners or other landowners attempting to repair their property. Yesterday, I spoke with a fencing contractor who is building a new fence near a home in Jackson County, Oregon. The Applegate river, which was about one-fourth mile from the home before the flood, now is right next to the house - threatening the life of a small child who lives in the home. The homeowner has been refused permission to repair the dike that would move the stream back to its prior location.
Much of the land in this region lies along rivers and streams. During winter, debris often blocks these streams, causing the water to erode the banks and flood across the land. New enviro regulations prohibit the removal of this "natural" debris. Then, when property is damaged., the regulators also prevent the repair of "natural" damage.
