Mindy
Nordman
12th
Turning 18, Lisa is
excited. She is ready to show her
individuality in a legal way by getting a tattoo.
She has been planning on getting a Monarch butterfly tattooed on her hip.
Lisa is a sophomore in college studying to become an anthropologist.
The Monarch is just one of her favorite insects.
She has decided it would be the perfect tattoo to express herself.
What Lisa does not consider is many tattoo parlors are illegal.
She becomes infected with Hepatitis C from a contaminated needle. Hepatitis C is a virus that affects the liver and can lead to
cirrhosis, which is a chronic liver disease.
Her antibodies will try to fight the virus, but approximately 80 to 85%
of the cases in which a person is infected the virus is not eradicated.
Lisa’s choice has not been wise. Obviously,
there is too little government regulation of body art.
Body art is regulated by the states. Virginia has passed a new law that
went into effect July 1, 2001. The
law allows unannounced inspections of tattoo parlors.
Virginia now requires that local regulators impose federal
disease-prevention standards and inform the customers of risks tattooing and
body piercing impose. This
law only covers studios that are already regulated by the government.
Only 16 states have adopted laws restricting or regulating tattooing.
Fines for breaking these laws range from $500 to $150,000 or possibly
jail time. That leaves 34 states
which have not taken action in regulating the growing new trend of body art.
Body art parlors cannot tattoo or body pierce any person under the age of
18 without a written consent of their legal guardian.
Tattoo parlors are required to be licensed and inspected.
Needles are required to be changed after tattoos and body piercings.
These are legitimate regulations some states enforce upon body art.
Regulations like these needs to be enforced in all the states to insure
safe body art.
Some unnecessary regulations are being enforced also. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will
not allow employees working near electric lines to wear non-traditional jewelry
on their faces. Earrings are
traditional, but they can be much longer than a stud ring piercing on a
person’s nose. It is unnecessary
to ban a simple stud ring when earrings are allowed.
In Hawaii, only tattooing is permitted in a tattoo shop.
This is outrageous for there is no reason body piercing cannot be done in
the same shop with sterilization. Tattoo
shops are now illegal in Hampton, Virginia Beach, and Chesterfield County, all
places located in Virginia. This ban was precipitated, because too many young kids were
getting tattoos without legal consent. There
is no reason why the law could not enforce body art better.
It is unnecessary to completely ban body art in these places.
In the United States of America we are suppose to have freedom of choice. Banning body art is taking away that right.
More regulations are needed in the body art profession.
It is an art that is coming back. Legitimate
regulations need to be enforced in states that they are not. Every shop needs to be regulated for the safety of the
public. Hepatitis, HIV, and other
viral infections should not be spread when simple actions can be done to stop
them. All the equipment used should
be sterile and no one needle should be used twice. In some cases tattoo artists pour ink from a large container
into a small one in order to make a tattoo.
When they have used all the ink they need from the small container, they
pour it back into the large container. Doing this could infect all the paint
with a virus. Mixing paint should
be strictly prohibited. Body
piercing and tattoo kits are very easy to purchase.
Amateurs could easily spread a disease around by experimenting on their
friends. The purchasing of such
kits should require a license from a trained person.
Regulating tattoo parlors could result in a decrease of tattoo shops.
Sterilization kits cost around $1,500, while the kit consisting of ink
and tattoo guns cost any where from $500 to $700. Not all tattoo artists are willing to pay more for
sterilization. Artists might lose
money in order to fit government regulations.
It is a profession many people may decide not to look into after the
extra cost. Yet, it is something
that must be done to prevent disease.
The state governments should decide how body art is regulated.
All states should be required to decide upon regulations.
Tattoo parlors should be regulated by the Health Department of each
county. Many health department
employees want more pay for regulating these shops. When many of these employees accepted this job, the tattoo
parlors were not an issue. With the
growing demand of body piercing and tattoos, this market has became one that
needs to be regulated. These health
department employees need more pay to take on jobs that were not required
before. To obtain better sanitation
and to prevent the unnecessary spread of many diseases, this industry needs to
be better regulated.
Q1 What is the only way to prevent hijackers from gaining control of an airplane according to the unknown author?
The unknown author suggests that changes be made to the cockpit such as: harden the cockpit, a slot to slide food in through the cockpit, a mini restroom in the cockpit, and no one can go in or out of the cockpit during a flight.
Q2 What are the arguments given by lobbyists for the Bells in favor of HR 1542 (Tauzin-Dingell Bill) and arguments given by their opponents against this legislation?
The arguments given by lobbyists are that members need regulatory relief
to compete with cable television companies and other high-speed Internet
providers. The opponents stated
they would give the Bells a stranglehold on high-speed Internet service and
delay the development of next generation web technology.
Q3- Why do small-business groups like HR 1831? From the small amount of information presented in your required reading, do you think the legislation is a good idea? Why?
The bill would apply to small businesses that dump ordinary garbage in a landfill that later is designated a superfund site. It also protects businesses that discard less than 110 gallons of liquid waste or less than 200 pounds of solid waste. Smaller companies like HR 1831, because it is exempting them on having to pay taxes on damage that larger companies made. I think the legislation is a good idea. It will help out small companies and be worth it for them.
Q4- Give an argument in favor of government regulating activities such as rollerblading and bungee-jumping.
Regulating rollerblading and bungee-jumping assures the publics safety.
People want to have a sense of safety, and regulating activities that
could be harmful will help assure them they are safe.
Q5- Define a “burden hour.”
A burden hour measures the time it takes to collect data and to fill out
federal forms, surveys, and reports.
Q6- Why was Connecticut Senator, Joseph Lieberman, concerned enough to vote against the nomination of Professor John Graham as administrator of the office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the current Bush administration?
Joseph Lieberman questioned whether or not Graham would weaken federal health care and environmental safety standards. They also questioned the way Graham gauges proposed solutions. Instead of estimating the number of lives that would be saved by a regulation. Graham tries to determine how many years of life would be saved. He dismisses problems that might not arise for decades and solutions that might add a few high-quality years to an individual’s life.
Q6a Graham is a proponent of “risk analysis.” How is risk analysis defined on page 992 of the May 5, 2001 issue of Congressional Quarterly Weekly?
Risk analysis calculates the likelihood of a hazard against the costs and benefits of preventing it.
Q6b Who was the first president to order federal agencies to weigh potential costs and benefits when writing a rule?
Ronald Reagan was the first president to order federal agencies to weigh
potential costs and benefits when writing a rule.
Q6- How much would compliance with OSHA’s regulations to limit injuries or disabilities from performing repetitive tasks cost according to an estimate by business groups as reported in the 2000 CQ Almanac? What was the response of OSHA and Labor Department officials?
Business groups say compliance would range from 14 to 80 billion dollars
a year. OSHA says that the rule is
intended to be flexible and would not require most companies to act. OSHA also said it would save the companies 9 billion dollars
a year.
Q7- What was the makeup of the “iron triangle” during the Reagan years and what do environmentalists and consumer activists foresee as its composition in the current Bush administration?
The “iron triangle” was an alliance among democratic committee
chairmen agency officials and interest groups that worked to achieve common
goals. Environmentalists and
consumer activists foresee it composed of industry officials, the White House,
and GOP committee chairmen.. Which
would leave them out.
Q8- Name 5 actions of the Bush administration that have drawn criticism from Environmentalists.
Bush denied a campaign
pledge to regulate carbon dioxide and rejected the Kyoto Protocol on global
warming. He also reversed a Clinton
rule to reduce the levels of arsenic in drinking water.
Bush may let timber companies destroy the nation’s forests.
The Department of Agriculture proposed a decision that would have ended
testing of school meat for salmonella.
Q9- What did the executive order issued by Ronald Reagan in 1981 and still in effect today, require agencies to prove before new regulations were enacted? How did the Democratic House counter in 1986?
The executive order required agencies to prove that regulations’
benefits would out weigh its cost. The
democratic house deleted funds for OMB’s regulatory division.
Q10- On the average, how long does it take to build an airport? A highway?
It takes an average of twelve years to build a highway and fifteen year
to build an airport.
Q11- Discuss the pros and cons of licensing requirements.
The con of licensing requirements is that Monique Landers is 15. She can’t attend a cosmetology school till she is 17. She had an African braiding business. Even if she wanted to go to cosmetology school they briefly discuss African braiding. Her business was away to keep her off the streets coming from the inner city. It was a learning experience teaching her how to make her own money.
The pro is Landers would be cheating cosmetologists, who had to pay for
school in order to have their own business.
It would not be fair for them if she started one without any education in
cosmetology.
Q12- Discuss the pros and cons of master plans and planning departments.
The cons of master plans and planning departments include wasting the time and intelligence of those who must take time away from home, business, trade or profession to fill out forms and appear before numerous hearings and commissions. The boards, supervisors, commissions and so on operate in an arbitrary and inconsistent manner.
The pros of master plans and planning departments include looking ahead
to prevent damage.