On Mar 3, 3:47*am, "Ed Huntress" wrote:

So, what's the supposed connection between Milton Friedman and strict
building codes? That sounds like the OPPOSITE of a Chicago School plan.
They'd say that private buildings are none of the government's business.

--
Ed Huntress

Easy. The Chicago boys raised the GDP of Chile. A more prosperous
country uses better material in the construction of buildings, and
builders have a harder time bribing the building inspectors.

Why do you say the Chicago School would say that private buildings are
none of the governments business?

"As for Chile, Pinochet appointed a succession of Chicago Boys to
senior economic posts. By 1990, the year he ceded power, per capita
GDP had risen by 40% (in 2005 dollars) even as Peru and Argentina
stagnated. Pinochet's democratic successors—all of them nominally left-
of-center—only deepened the liberalization drive. Result: Chileans
have become South America's richest people. They have the continent's
lowest level of corruption, the lowest infant-mortality rate, and the
lowest number of people living below the poverty line.

Chile also has some of the world's strictest building codes. That
makes sense for a country that straddles two massive tectonic plates.
But having codes is one thing, enforcing them is another. The quality
and consistency of enforcement is typically correlated to the wealth
of nations. The poorer the country, the likelier people are to scrimp
on rebar, or use poor quality concrete, or lie about compliance. In
the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, thousands of children were buried
under schools also built according to code."

Dan