Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site ucbvax.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!ucbvax!fagin From: fagin@ucbvax.ARPA (Barry Steven Fagin) Newsgroups: net.politics Subject: The free market and scuba diving Message-ID: <10169@ucbvax.ARPA> Date: Fri, 23-Aug-85 17:36:12 EDT Article-I.D.: ucbvax.10169 Posted: Fri Aug 23 17:36:12 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 25-Aug-85 00:15:02 EDT References: <9563@ucbvax.ARPA> <1106@umcp-cs.UUCP> <10166@ucbvax.ARPA> Reply-To: fagin@ucbvax.UUCP (Barry Steven Fagin) Organization: University of California at Berkeley Lines: 20 I just got back from a vacation in Hawaii, and had an interesting experience worthy of a net.politics posting. My wife and I decided to go scuba diving; she's experienced, while I had never been before. When we went to get equipment, the dive shop wouldn't rent anything to me because I wasn't certified; my wife had to get gear at two different dive shops in her name. I spoke at great length with a dive shop owner about this. Apparently, there are no laws in Hawaii that forbid renting to non-certified divers. Instead, the companies that insure the dive shops require that their customers be certified. My gut reaction was "What a crock", since in diving I endanger only myself and perhaps my wife, and we're both consenting adults, but since the regulations were strictly noncoercive I couldn't get too riled up. An interesting example of how the free market keeps a sport safe, even though it may piss off libertarians. --Barry -- Barry Fagin @ University of California, Berkeley