P R O F E S S I O N A L . . . C O N T R O L L
E R S
How
to Produce Harmful Discrimination
© 2003
by Adrian W.
Hollander, C.P.A., CISA, CIA, CBA,
CFSA,
President of COMPLUS Inc. – Professional Controllers
It is often said that in
order to enable fair competition what we want is a “level playing field.” Baloney, what we ALL want is an advantage.
For only the superior party, though, is a level playing field an
advantage. To tip the playing field,
those in “power” make the “rules” complicated, or at least to seem to be so. Complex rules make it easier for the insider
to get or give an advantage. With
complicated rules outsiders will have much more difficulty with compliance. Failure to comply with the rules makes it
easier to selectively exclude or punish someone. Of course, insiders can still help their
friends or forgive them for failure to comply.
To illustrate: picture the
intersection of two roads. An apparent
objective of regulation is to prevent crashes.
To enable discrimination, though, mount a black and white rectangular
sign with the text of the statute, in small letters, describing the rules of
traffic flow across an intersection.
Ignorance is no excuse. To level
the playing field, somewhat, mount large 8-sided signs, painted with large
white letters (STOP) on a background of red reflective paint. (Still, laws are mostly for the law abiding.) Even with a clear sign, the police can still
decide to whom to give a ticket, and the courts can decide how (or if) to
punish a reported offense. Guess who get
the breaks?
send e-mail to: AHollan700@aol.com