As first time parents of a 15 year old daughter, we set rules for our daughter with an eye towards safety and security, and hopefully we’re encouraging personal growth along the way. We’d like her to make smart decisions, but realize that she may not always act in her own best long term interest, or the best interest of others. In a perfect world, she would be able to self-regulate those impulses to do foolish things for short term gain (speeding, skipping homework, staying up too late), but we know that for her own good, “trust but verify” is a good policy.
As a first time 15 year old, it is hard for our daughter to understand the rationale behind our rules and regulations. It’s to be expected. She tries to argue the rules, bend the rules, pretend she didn’t hear the rules, and lash out at the rule makers. She will often employ advocates – siblings, friends, other adults – to plead her case, or to blatantly trick us into changing the rules. She likes to accuse us of being “freakishly overprotective”, to which we respond that we are merely being “protective”, and that there is a world of difference between the two concepts. Of course, to the one being affected by the rules, there is no difference. Freakishly or not, she says, the rules stifle her personal growth and freedom, and must go.
The impulses of adolescence do not always follow a predictable pattern, and we as parents must remain vigilant to insure that our daughter has an environment that allows her to grow into the productive adult we know she can become, respectful of others while focused our her dreams.
In our financial and energy industries, we as a nation set rules with an eye towards safety and security, and hopefully we’re encouraging business growth along the way. We would like these industries to make smart decisions, but realize that they may not always act in their own best long term interest, or the best interest of others. In a perfect world, they would be able to self-regulate those impulses to do foolish things for short term gain (pollute the environment, promote dangerous financial products for short term bonuses, use cheaper materials for infrastructure to cut costs), but we know that for their own good, “trust but verify” is a good policy.
In our financial and energy industries, it is hard for these companies to understand the rationale behind our rules and regulations. It’s to be expected. They try to argue the rules, bend the rules, pretend they didn’t hear the rules, and lash out at the rule makers. They will often employ advocates – lobbyists, politicians, commentators – to plead their case, or to blatantly trick us into changing the rules. They like to accuse us of being “freakishly over-regulatory”, to which we respond that we are merely being “regulatory”, and that there is a world of difference between the two concepts. Of course, to the one being affected by the rules, there is no difference. Freakishly or not, they say, the rules stifle their profit growth and freedom, and must go.
The impulses of capitalism do not always follow a predictable pattern, and we as citizens must remain vigilant to insure that our industries have an environment that allow them to grow into the productive businesses we know they can become, respectful of others while focused our their bottom line.
Of course, my daughter will outgrow puberty and all of its hormone-fueled behaviors. At that seemingly distant point, she will set her own rules and guidelines for self-control, grounded in the lessons and dysfunction that we instilled in her. The financial and energy industries in this country will never outgrow the sometimes self-destructive urges of take-no-prisoners capitalism, and reasonable regulation will always be required to protect our nation and its citizens – as well as protect the industry from itself.
Reasonable people can debate the web of regulations that can stifle industry when government oversight runs amok. Examples of over-regulation clothed in good intentions are everywhere. Just like parents, we as citizens can be blinded by disappointment and anger when things go wrong or mistakes are made, and we can vote and act out of emotion instead of calm, deliberate reason. Rules and regulations require constant review to remaining meaningful and effective in changing times, and that’s true for daughters and businesses.
Reasonable people should also recognize that those who are to be regulated will lash out like teenage girls when confronted with any restrictions on their activities. It’s human nature, and we should be wary whenever a company cries out reflexively, “It’s not fair!” We need to tell our financial and energy industries firmly and in a unified voice our motto: “I know you don’t think it’s fair, sweetheart, but if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times - trust but verify.”
Works in my house...as far as I know, anyway.
you are insane.
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