Bankruptcy grace period

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

At 04:12 PM 3/23/01 +0000, Justin wrote:
>People talk about professionalization and regulation of law and medicine 
>like it's a bad thing. Look, the situation with crooked, incompetent, and 
>indifferent lawyers and doctors is bad enough as it is, even with 
>regulation. But these are real disciplines that require mastry of complex 
>bodies of material. Moreover, unlike academics, there is a real cost to real 
>human beings if it's badly done--well, I don't mean to discount the 
>interests of students, but in fact in much of academics that isn't a 
>consideration; I meant research. If you go to a quack doctor, you may get 
>rooked or die. If you go to a charlatan  "attorney," you may lose your 
>money, or your house, or go to jail. I see what happens when people 
>represent themselves, sometimes with the "help" of friends. 
>Occassionally--very occasionally--they do a creditable job, better than some 
>of the loser lawyers who practice before the courts. Mostly they blow 
>everything, and can only be rescued if a sympathetic judge or clerk puts in 
>more time than she ought to pull something from the wreckage. Without 
>regulation and the guild mentality, there would be a lot more of that. So, 
>guild mentality? You bet. --jks

You have a good point here, Justin.  The professions, and regulations
thereof, are generally a good thing, occasional abuses of trust
notwithstanding.  The criticim of 'entry barriers' and "professional
monopolies' smack of the neo-classical market-schmarket mentality that
resents the fact that most professions have been quite effective in
resisting taylorisation.

wojtek