Should government protect consumer safety?
As a long-time Toyota owner myself, it’s been difficult to see the rash of recalls facing the Japanese automaker. But it’s raised an interesting question about the role of the government in a free market. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for example, has received a good deal of criticism for not following up on evidence of braking problems in Toyota cars as early as 2007. But the question remains: should government intervene in the free market to protect consumer safety? And if so, to what degree? Must government test everything that comes to market? Every product line? Or every single product? Or should government not intervene at all? Is the free flow of information (especially in the internet age) enough to get companies themselves to ensure the safety of their own products?
Discuss…
-Marc
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