Underwriters Laboratories and Downsizing Government

[TonySutton]

I work for a company which manufactures electronic equipment.

UL inspects and tests our equipment and business to make sure we meet certain standards. Not only our product but how we manage the life cycle of the products and customer relationships. Many of our customers will not do business with companies or buy their products unless they are certified to meet these standards.

It is my understanding that UL is a private not for profit business. I am not sure if they receive any government funding of any sort. I was thinking, if we can have a private not for profit entity setting standards for product safety why couldn't this model replace the FDA, DoE and many other government agencies.

Am I missing something here?

[ghengis86]

I work for a company which manufactures electronic equipment.

UL inspects and tests our equipment and business to make sure we meet certain standards. Not only our product but how we manage the life cycle of the products and customer relationships. Many of our customers will not do business with companies or buy their products unless they are certified to meet these standards.

It is my understanding that UL is a private not for profit business. I am not sure if they receive any government funding of any sort. I was thinking, if we can have a private not for profit entity setting standards for product safety why couldn't this model replace the FDA, DoE and many other government agencies.

Am I missing something here?

Yes; how then would government waste money, resources, time, etc. while still telling the sheeple they're 'protecting the children' and justify their exitence to said sheeple.

There are a lot of private industry certification organizations that operate in the same manner. It just makes too much sense...

[krazy kaju]

UL is a private entity and it could easily replace government regulations with much more efficient results; Mises.org had an article on the topic once, see it here (http://mises.org/story/3440).