Sell Cosmetic Contact Lenses? LOSE YOUR CAR!

Praise Mao and may Stalin expropriate your automobile.

The Mises Institute explains:

Witness a recent “consent decree” issued against Da Young Kim, an Atlanta woman who sold cosmetic (noncorrective) contact lenses online. The Bureau of Consumer Protection — acting through a small army of Justice Department lawyers — rushed to court to declare this woman a criminal. Why? Because several years earlier, Congress issued decrees giving the FTC a regulatory franchise to control the sale of contact lenses, and a subsequent declaration expanded the definition of “contact lenses” to include the purely cosmetic types sold by Kim.

Kim’s punishment for this heinous act of villainy?

The FTC fined her $50,000, which the Commission acknowledged she did not have. So instead the Commission seized her car. Kim was literally forced to auction off her car and surrender all of the proceeds to the FTC as a “civil penalty.” This was in addition to a litany of other restrictions on her future business practices and recordkeeping requirements that will last several more years. (At the time of this writing, Kim’s website is no longer operational.)

Of course:

the FTC’s case against Kim mentioned no complaints from dissatisfied customers or any suggestion that anyone received defective or unsafe cosmetic lenses. The sole issue was Kim’s failure to honor the congressional decree that she receive and verify permission from a third party — an eye doctor — before engaging in a voluntary transaction with a willing customer.

Big government – keeping you safe from yourself since 1776.

I dunno....

Honestly, I am really not against regulation on contact lenses... corrective or otherwise.

Eyes are very sensitive and easily damaged. Seems pretty reasonable actually.

The simple matter is that this person acted outside the law. She could have easily taken the necessary steps to operate her business within the law but chose not to do so. I really don't have much sympathy for her.

We've had a lot of that kinda stuff here...folks selling contact lenses, dentures, hearing aids, tattoos out of their cars, apartments, etc.

The most interesting (and weird) ones have been these guys - often asian - who sell and install gold teeth "grills" out of the trunks of their cars!

I'm serious. They get these kids and other idiots to pay them fifty or a hundred bucks or so and the glue the damn things in the customers' mouths with epoxy they buy at the hardware store!

A dentist buddy of mine told me that the things and their removal/repair is absolutely traumatic and costs thousands of dollars.

I don't think that any fed agency is in charge of stopping it, though. Just the county sheriff/city police.

Originally posted by YourPopRock
I dunno....

Honestly, I am really not against regulation on contact lenses... corrective or otherwise.

Eyes are very sensitive and easily damaged. Seems pretty reasonable actually.

The simple matter is that this person acted outside the law. She could have easily taken the necessary steps to operate her business within the law but chose not to do so. I really don't have much sympathy for her.

Yeah,
I'm not against regulations on grenades ... legal or otherwise.

Eyes are very sensitive and easily damaged. Seems pretty reasonable actually.

reply to post by MMPI2


Sky diving is dangerous - ban it

Driving is dangerous - ban it

Smoking is dangerous - ban it

Drinking is dangerous - ban it

Gambling is dangerous - ban it

Hockey is dangerous - ban it

Football is dangerous - ban it

etc.. etc.. etc...


It is not the government's job to keep people safe from themselves.

It is the government's job to keep people safe from others, one that they exceedingly fail at.

Perhaps you missed it, but the entire purpose of the contact law was to restrict competition and keep prices high. The market was trying to offer low cost cosmetic lenses to consumers that voluntarily wanted to use them at their own risk.

Government felt consumers were too stupid to purchase these contacts on their own, so they forced them to go to high priced optometrists to get a prescription for non-corrective lenses first.

Originally posted by mnemeth1
reply to post by MMPI2

 

Sky diving is dangerous - ban it

Driving is dangerous - ban it

Smoking is dangerous - ban it

Drinking is dangerous - ban it

Gambling is dangerous - ban it

Hockey is dangerous - ban it

Football is dangerous - ban it

etc.. etc.. etc...


It is not the government's job to keep people safe from themselves.

It is the government's job to keep people safe from others, one that they exceedingly fail at.

Perhaps you missed it, but the entire purpose of the contact law was to restrict competition and keep prices high.

edit on 9-2-2011 by mnemeth1 because: (no reason given)

Nowadays, though, the gov won't ban it, they will just tax it...it's an easy way to separate the sheep from their moolah.

reply to post by MMPI2


The government most certainly did ban it.

It cost Kim her car for a law that she didn't even know existed.

Kim is BANNED from selling contact lenses on her website without going through an optometrist.

reply to post by badgerprints


This regulation is in place to prevent some moron from making a defecitve contact lense and then blinding a customer. You know 50,000 is a slap on the wrist compared to what the taxpayer would have to absorb if the fool would have blinded somone or multiple people.

Originally posted by Wertdagf
reply to post by badgerprints

 

This regulation is in place to prevent some moron from making a defecitve contact lense and then blinding a customer. You know 50,000 is a slap on the wrist compared to what the taxpayer would have to absorb if the fool would have blinded somone or multiple people.

No, that is not what the law is about.

The lenses Kim sold were exactly the same kind you get from an optometrist.

The law was designed to prevent Kim from selling the same lenses optometrists sell.

The law was designed to prevent YOU from buying cheap contact lenses at your own risk.

reply to post by mnemeth1


There are some eye conditions and allergys that need to be tested for... because the one person that slips through the prescription process and buys these things and gets blinded because of allgery or previous eye conditions the tax payer will be out millions...

Its illegal. Its illegal for a good reason. She new it was illegal.

There are a lot of these sites selling the oversized lenses that I think come out of Japan. They KNOW it is illegal to sell them in the US.

I mean - - she can't even claim Ignorance of the Law - - - not that that is an excuse.

I would have took a big dump and pee in the car after locking a skunk in there with the radio up all the way just before I surrendered the car.

Government has been out of control regulating everything to death... Literally..

The only conclusion to it is at some point, we will see what happened in Egypt, happen here in the USA..

That regulation of things on daily basis and ongoing will eventually see a critical mass effect, seems a logical conclusion.

It is a government declaring war on freedom of choice in order to empower itself plain and simple. And before someone says "but they are just trying to protect us" Howabout you plug yourself in to intravenous feeding and chemical coma as a preventative measure that you could hurt yourself living normally.. Much safer.

(yeah bit of overkill and sarcasm, but just making a point)

These federal regulatory agencies have WAY too much power.. we need a better leader that will strip away these draconian regulating agencies.. They ALWAYS abuse their authority with every breath they take.
And they always end up operating far outside the scope of their orginlally intended purpose, and they grow gigantic like cancer requiring more and more funding. It ends like Egypt somewhere along the timeline..

s&f[editby

reply to post by mnemeth1


Should I be allowed to perform heart surgeries? Im just curious where you draw the line.

Should I be allowed to practice medicine?

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


With all due respect, practicing medicine without a license is not in the same catagory as regulation of consumer products, even cosmetic contact lenses..

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


Hmm.. you any good? I was thinking of getting my nose sculpted and if your prices are right, you might have a new customer!

reply to post by alienreality


Well with all due respect, its my understanding that you can lose your sight using contact lenses improperly. I cant dispense prescription medicine, I cant perform medical procedures, etc., because I dont have a license to do so. Im not trained to do so.

The gentleman I responded to seemed to be arguing that this was just about limiting freedom. But I dont see it that way. There are lots of things you need to be licensed to do, or sell, often because of the potential for harm to others, and contact lenses happen to be one of those things.

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
reply to post by alienreality

 

Well with all due respect, its my understanding that you can lose your sight using contact lenses improperly. I cant dispense prescription medicine, I cant perform medical procedures, etc., because I dont have a license to do so. I'm not trained to do so.

Right! I do wear contacts - - and I do find it annoying that I can't just order a pair - - since my eyes haven't changed in 20 years.

However - - I'm also realistic. Eyes are very important - - and the potential for harm or worse - blindness - is there.

Mostly young people wear these "Anime" oversized lenses. When you are young - - you're crazy - - you never think anything is going to happen to you. You do stupid things to be "hot".

But even at my age - - I leave my lenses in for a month at a time. Convenience - save money - etc. But - - I am diligent on keeping them clean - - and if there is any irritation I remove them.

Teens and Young People - - - are not going to be diligent.

reply to post by Annee


Exactly. And if any yo-yo off the street can sell you lenses, with no licensing, how long will it take before some cheap lenses, made in china out of god knows what harmful substance, start showing up on the street? Im going to guess not long. Because there will be no way to trace, with unlicensed dealers operating out of cars, who is doing what. And where there is opportunity to sell cheap knockoffs there generally is the sale of cheap knock offs.

Controlling who dispenses things that can harm you is also about quality control. If a bunch of people have a bad reaction, it allows you to trace back and find out who made what, who did what, and hopefully, get the bad product off the street.

Originally posted by mnemeth1
reply to post by MMPI2

 

Sky diving is dangerous - ban it

Instructors are licensed and regulated.

Driving is dangerous - ban it

Instructors are licensed, tests are performed by authorised agencies and are recurring.

Smoking is dangerous - ban it

Cigarettes are sold by licensed distributors.

Drinking is dangerous - ban it

Alcohol is sold by licensed distributors.

Gambling is dangerous - ban it

Legal gambling is performed in licensed and regulated facilities.

Hockey is dangerous - ban it
Football is dangerous - ban it

Professional sports are generally regulated, albeit typically self-regulated, but are also overseen by NIOSH/OSHA and other bodies.
Scholastic sports are likewise regulated and monitored by various health organisations and such.

etc.. etc.. etc...