Horses race on three types of surfaces: grass, dirt, and synthetic. Around 2006-2007, the state of California mandated that the state’s major race tracks replace their dirt surfaces with synthetic materials. This expensive mandate was made in the name of safety. Of course, the safety pitch was made by the manufacturers of the synthetic tracks. The end result was a reduction of some injuries to horses, but some new injuries were the other half of the trade-off.
When a bureaucrat or politician has nothing at risk, he or she has no problem establishing rules for others to follow; for an example that is closer to home, look at the early days of Illinois’ mandatory vehicle emissions testing program – and the lack of legal recourse for motorists whose vehicles were damaged as a result of those mandatory tests.
Is America headed for a recession?
But then again, feel-good mandates are little more than attempts by a ruling elite who want to blur the line between activity and accomplishment.
January, 2014 will soon arrive. And once it arrives, another part of sports history will eventually be replaced by breathtaking strip malls, blocks of one-of-a-kind, lookalike houses, and perhaps, an exciting new Walgreen’s. From race tracks, to drive-in theaters, to stadiums, the loss of structurally-sound, still-useful buildings or parcels of land, that several generations have in common feels like a tragic, avoidable waste – kind of like having to live by rules made by unqualified, irresponsible politicians and bureaucrats.
Image: http://home.uchicago.edu/~pseybold/2003_10_01_archive.htm Wrigley Field Sign
