The title is a cynical quote about politics from Frank Herbert’s Dune that came to mind as I read Senate Resolution 9, introduced by Sen. Koch. It urges the legislative council to assign to a study committee the study of virtual currencies and the Uniform Regulation of Currencies Business Act. (PDF link to the text of the act). There is an organization known as the Uniform Law Commission that proposes various types of legislation that either isn’t appropriate for federal legislation or on which the federal government is unwilling or unable to act. The organization drafts uniform acts and then states that are so inclined adopt the legislation in more or less the form proposed.
The resolution cites as one of the reasons for studying virtual currencies and the uniform act that “individuals and businesses that buy, sell, and store virtual currencies are largely unregulated, raising concerns about security, insolvency, theft, and hacking.” I’ve read enough cyberpunk books over the years to know that this lack of regulation is seen in some circles as more of a feature than a bug. Ultimately, I tend to think that successful, reliable unregulated currency is more the stuff of anti-government, libertarian fantasies than a realistic probability. So, studying potential regulations makes sense. I have no real idea what’s in that Uniform Act, so I couldn’t comment on whether it’s a good idea or not.
I wonder if Sen. Koch realizes that we have a few really good universities packed with some really smart and informed people who, if he called them, would be delighted to educate him about some of the issues he wants to parade around the legislature and help him design some smart laws. This is more of the “shoot, aim, ready” nonsense which is S.O.P. for some of these people.
Yes, he realizes. No, he doesn’t care. Because politics aren’t about what’s rational, they’re about what sells.