The HB-5005 caused quite a commotion over the last month in Florida, especially amongst the four thousand plus Professional Surveyors and Mappers residing in the state, placing at odds those for and against deregulation.
To capture a deep understanding of the meaning of deregulation, a bold look at the free market is required. In a free market the laws of supply and demand play a fundamental role. Supply indicates what the market can bring. Demand establishes the need. Together they both help establish price, quantity, quality, and competition. It is theorized that these forces move in concert with each other until an equilibrium state is attained. At this point it is believed that satisfaction would be achieved for all participants thus touting the process as
fair.
With the establishment of government –
for the people, a guiding hand was deemed necessary by some. Meant to ‘protect’ the public by law, essential industries were regulated from negative impacts of ‘
Laissez Faire’. This scenario introduced strengths into the market that could trump against existing forces, curtailing market effects as desired. Following ‘The Great Depression’ and the fall of the stock market on Tuesday October 29
th 1929, the government began placing these protections in the form of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and that was just on the financial side of the house! Water, electricity, and communication were part and parcel.
According to
www.hasboro.com, Charles B. Darrow walked into Parker Brothers at the height of the Great Depression in 1934 and showed them the game Monopoly, it went on to become the best selling game in the world. Unfortunately, it is also what happened to the many of the regulated industries. Yes it is ironic, Alanis Moriseet. Thus, in an effort to rebalance the market, even the odds so to speak - deregulation unhinges the impact of legislation and laws and re-allows the market its freedom.
But, is this the freedom we really need and if not all, how much? Since the removal of Surveying and Mapping from HB-5005 should you rest easy or move to strengthen your commitment to the profession?
A copy of the
PCS for HB-5005 can be found on the
Florida Surveying & Mapping Society website.
