Friday, May 27, 2011

Bad Regulating?

Using official regulatory power to settle a personal squabble would be a serious abuse of power.  And that is the charge lodged against Dr. Avila, Pennsylvania's Secretary of Health.

The Patriot News in a friday May 27th scathing editorial states that Dr. Avila got into a dispute about a food order with the owner of Roxy Restaurant, a provider of good, low-cost food in Harrisburg. The dispute about the food order is not the problem.  What came next would be a major problem if true.

See http://mobile.pennlive.com/advpenn/db_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=5arQHrjo&fulll=true#display.

According to The Patriot News, Dr. Avila used his office to target Roxy for a health inspection in retaliation for the food order dispute.

There may be another side to this story. 

Whether or not there is, good regulation is vital to health, safety, and efficient markets.  Good regulation must be professional and independent.  It is hugely important to make sure regulation is both.

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