When Bad Policy Makes Things Worse (Townhall.com) May 11, 2010

Courtesy of Townhall.com

they must pass some kind of legislation to address every problem, whether their solutions are evidence-based, likely to help, or not.

So, for example, even though research demonstrated that holding a cellphone in your hand is not a leading contributor to accidents, states passed bills banning hand-held phones, arguing, “we must do something.”

Cash for clunkers?  Didn’t solve the problem.  The massive stimulus bill?  As the evidence comes in, the money didn’t get to the right places and have any multiplier effect.  Healthcare reform—does nothing about the big issue, cost, in fact makes it worse, but we had to do something.

I’d like to pass a bill myself—that no bill can be adopted without evidence to show it will actually solve a problem.