How many laws do we need?
Discussion
On this forum many of us think that we need fewer laws and that the state should intervene less in people's lives.
This got me thinking where do you think the line should be drawn, and which of the following statements would you agree with (assuming all involved are over 18 and consent) and which of these activities do you think the state should prohibit or regulate and why? - for the record I wouldn't do any of them
1. It should be legal to ride a motorcycle without a helmet.
2. It should be legal to employ someone on £1 per hour.
3. It should be legal to smoke cannabis.
4. It should be legal to lend someone £100 at 1000% interest, repayable over a year.
5. It should be legal for two men to have anal sex.
6. It should be legal to say "no blacks" when advertising for a job.
7. It should be legal to employ someone with a contract that does not pay sick pay, holiday pay and can be terminated without notice.
8. It should be legal to hunt foxes with hounds.
9. It should be legal to stage a dog fight.
10. It should be legal (for someone with no medical/pharmaceutical qualifications) to sell someone a drug that is currently prescription only.
11. It should be legal to possess an automatic rifle.
12. It should be legal to walk around a public place naked.
13. It should be legal to stage a bare knuckle boxing match.
14. It should be legal to wear a t-shirt in a public place saying "f..k the police" (spelt out in full).
16. It should be legal to pay another person for sex.
17. It should be legal for the owner of a private cafe to allow customers to smoke in it.
18. It should be legal to wear a t shirt saying "islam is evil".
19. It should be legal to eat the meat of a dog.
20. It should be legal to drive a Ssangyong Rodius in a public place
This got me thinking where do you think the line should be drawn, and which of the following statements would you agree with (assuming all involved are over 18 and consent) and which of these activities do you think the state should prohibit or regulate and why? - for the record I wouldn't do any of them
1. It should be legal to ride a motorcycle without a helmet.
2. It should be legal to employ someone on £1 per hour.
3. It should be legal to smoke cannabis.
4. It should be legal to lend someone £100 at 1000% interest, repayable over a year.
5. It should be legal for two men to have anal sex.
6. It should be legal to say "no blacks" when advertising for a job.
7. It should be legal to employ someone with a contract that does not pay sick pay, holiday pay and can be terminated without notice.
8. It should be legal to hunt foxes with hounds.
9. It should be legal to stage a dog fight.
10. It should be legal (for someone with no medical/pharmaceutical qualifications) to sell someone a drug that is currently prescription only.
11. It should be legal to possess an automatic rifle.
12. It should be legal to walk around a public place naked.
13. It should be legal to stage a bare knuckle boxing match.
14. It should be legal to wear a t-shirt in a public place saying "f..k the police" (spelt out in full).
16. It should be legal to pay another person for sex.
17. It should be legal for the owner of a private cafe to allow customers to smoke in it.
18. It should be legal to wear a t shirt saying "islam is evil".
19. It should be legal to eat the meat of a dog.
20. It should be legal to drive a Ssangyong Rodius in a public place
Mojooo said:
It IS legal to lend someone £100 with 1000% interest - there is no law against it AFAIK
There are just laws to say it must be documented in a certain way.
I should have been clearer - some of these are legal, some legal with restrictions and some not legal at the moment - the question is should they be illegal (or legal with restrictions).There are just laws to say it must be documented in a certain way.
Interesting that one poster thinks they should pretty much be all illegal and one that they should be mainly legal.
Mojooo said:
I am sure the minimum wage argument debate can (and no doubt has) have an entire thread of its own.
Although people may not work for £1 an hour I think they may stoop to £3 - which in my view is unacceptable.
If we didn't have benefits or a minimum wage law then I think we would have lots of people working for such low wages.
I think the point of the minimum wage tradnscends free market economics and comes down to a moral thing.
The other issue is that the current minimum wage is bareley enough to have a reasonable quality of life for some people (i.e those that live alone) - some argue it should be even higher!
What if I have a marginal business and if I pay people £3/hour it's profitable but any more than this it isn't viable. Should I employ people at this rate or not at all?Although people may not work for £1 an hour I think they may stoop to £3 - which in my view is unacceptable.
If we didn't have benefits or a minimum wage law then I think we would have lots of people working for such low wages.
I think the point of the minimum wage tradnscends free market economics and comes down to a moral thing.
The other issue is that the current minimum wage is bareley enough to have a reasonable quality of life for some people (i.e those that live alone) - some argue it should be even higher!
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