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It takes a minimum of 600 hours of training to get licensed to cut hair in California. Pex plumbing is banned in Chicago as a union protectionist regulation.

It takes a minimum of 600 hours of training to get licensed to cut hair in California. Pex plumbing is banned in Chicago as a union protectionist regulation. The "chicken tax" regulation scheme has screwed up the US truck market for decades. Electrical code requirements for the wiring of kitchen islands have changed drastically with very small justification within a short span of time. To this day it is illegal to trade onion futures in Chicago due to an attempt to corner the market on onions decades ago(probably over a century can't be bothered to check). Many European countries have draconian laws about air conditioning that are killing people this summer. The affordable care act is written in such a way that the only way for insurers to increase their profit margin on health plans is to increase the cost they pay out to providers ("gold plating") CAFE fuel economy standards have lead to the arms race of increased vehicle sizes for unnecessary reasons.

khriss 2mo ago
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djankauskas 2mo ago
These are excellent examples. Regulations are not inherently good or bad, and one of the issues we seem to have in the US is a lack of honest accounting, sometimes purposefully and sometimes due to a lack of state capacity, what the costs and benefits of different regulations are.
rgmerk 2mo ago
> Many European countries have draconian laws about air conditioning that are killing people this summer Cite your sources. There are specific issues in specific places (eg heritage restrictions in Paris), a higher prevalence of shared infrastructure rather than single family homes, and a higher level of renting rather than home ownership. And there are people on the green-left end of the political spectrum in parts of northern Europe with weird hangups about air conditioning. But as best I can tell this claim is false; the biggest reason why air conditioning is not so widespread in Northern Europe as in the United States is that the climate simply hasn’t, until recently, required it.
- kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 2mo ago
  > climate simply hasn’t, until recently, required it. I would qualify that as it hasn't required it since the invention of air conditioning. Which also isn't strictly true; the high temperature for Paris on July 1st this year is identical to the high for the same day back in 2015[1], and there are several times since 1970 that the temperature was over 30C. Other sources[2] indicate 1947 was just as brutal as 2019 and 2022, and the warmest night was in 1772 (27.5C) [1] https://weatheronthisday.com/intl/paris/7/1 https://weatheronthisday.com/intl/paris/7/1 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Paris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Paris (standard Wikipedia reliability warning applies)
  - rplnt 2mo ago
    Outside air temperature isn't an issue. It's not like people drop dead the moment it hits 40. The problem is that after a few days of that everything is heated up through and you have no place to escape it. That's new and hasn't been happening before.
    - account42 2mo ago
      But "somewhat longer heatwave" isn't as scary sounding as "HOTTEST EVER RECORDED TEMPERATURE IN $LOCALE!!!!!!" which is why all the scaremongers keep screaming the latter.
      - ragequittah 2mo ago
        We're warned of heatwaves and given instructions on how to not die all the time now. Not once did this occur when I was a child where I live. Record temperatures are more shown as an almanac style this is what's happened today whenever I see them. Personally I wish more scaremongering were happening right now.
        kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 2mo ago
        > Personally I wish more scaremongering were happening right now. You might be the first person in history to say that
Forgeties79 2mo ago
> Many European countries have draconian laws about air conditioning that are killing people this summer. I keep seeing people say this but they don’t have any evidence, seen it tons online the last few weeks even on HN. What’s the deal? One person the other day went so far as to say that multiple EU nations have banned AC, which is completely false. You can absolutely have air-conditioning in Europe. Some places have stricter rules about permanent installation, such as HVACs in older areas, but there are plenty of air-conditioning units people can just pick up and use the same day in those cases. You can get AC units in European nations. You don’t have to just roast for no reason because of the government.
- rplnt 2mo ago
  Just to add, the regulations you mention aren't even about AC, it's about modifying buildings' "looks". You can still install AC if you figure out where to put the outside unit - roof, balcony, inner yard, ... Not everyone has the ability to install personal unit where they live, that's true, same way they can't install satellite dishes for example.
scott_w 2mo ago
I’ll take your word on the other points but this one: > Many European countries have draconian laws about air conditioning that are killing people this summer. Needs some debunking. In fact, I think you may have been fed lies because the UK government felt the need to specifically call this out: https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/25/air-conditioning-rules/ https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/25/air-conditioning-r... In short: AC in the home is legal in the UK subject to following regulations, both national and local. Councils are generally happy to tell you how to comply, in my experience with building control.
- AnthonyMouse 2mo ago
  Reading that sort of thing is kind of amusing, e.g.: > In most cases, planning permission is not required to install it for a small home if it would not materially affect the appearance of the building from outside. Substantially all air conditioning units affect the appearance of the building from the outside because they require a coil or vent somewhere on the exterior of the building to expel heat. > Building regulations already require new residential buildings, including houses, flats, student accommodation, residential care homes and children's homes, to be designed to minimise overheating. If planning permission for aircon was denied, worry not, because the building code now requires measures that will keep some new buildings to a temperature ten or twenty degrees cooler than the older buildings (planning permission for aircon likewise denied), which is quite a difference when even the newer buildings are over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. They wouldn't need to spin it like this if there weren't actually buildings where people want to install air conditioning and are prohibited from it, because if that was the case they would have said that.
  - scott_w 2mo ago
    You're completely misreading regulations. "Materially affect" does not cover things like "puts a unit outside" because otherwise putting a satellite does would "materially affect the appearance of the building from outside," yet millions of people get Sky TV. > If planning permission for aircon was denied Again, this is not part of the article because it literally says you don't need planning permission! There are regulations you must follow about the size and location but, as long as those are followed, you don't need planning permission. At most, you alert Building Control who will tell you the process and, as long as you follow it, they will sign it off. For the avoidance of doubt: getting work signed off by your council's Building Control department is not planning permission. As long as your work follows the regulations, they will sign it off. Planning permission is ONLY needed if you want to do work outside of what building regs normally allow for residential properties. > They wouldn't need to spin it like this if there weren't actually buildings where people want to install air conditioning and are prohibited from it They wouldn't need to spin it like this if the media and their useful idiots like you didn't outright lie about what was actually happening.
gusgus01 2mo ago
Are you agreeing with the parent and giving examples of regulations that have been debated? Or are you trying to give examples of some of the "strawmen" regulations? A lot of these examples are pretty subjective or missing context...
zahlman 2mo ago
> decades ago(probably over a century can't be bothered to check). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion_Futures_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion_Futures_Act passed in 1958, just FYI.
Asmod4n 2mo ago
> Many European countries have draconian laws about air conditioning that are killing people this summer. There are very few laws which can say what you are allowed to do with your owned house. One of them is when it is of historical value. Then you aren’t allowed to change pretty much anything. The rest are just landlords who want to fuck you over.

khriss 2mo ago

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djankauskas 2mo ago

These are excellent examples. Regulations are not inherently good or bad, and one of the issues we seem to have in the US is a lack of honest accounting, sometimes purposefully and sometimes due to a lack of state capacity, what the costs and benefits of different regulations are.

rgmerk 2mo ago

> Many European countries have draconian laws about air conditioning that are killing people this summer Cite your sources. There are specific issues in specific places (eg heritage restrictions in Paris), a higher prevalence of shared infrastructure rather than single family homes, and a higher level of renting rather than home ownership. And there are people on the green-left end of the political spectrum in parts of northern Europe with weird hangups about air conditioning. But as best I can tell this claim is false; the biggest reason why air conditioning is not so widespread in Northern Europe as in the United States is that the climate simply hasn’t, until recently, required it.

kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 2mo ago
> climate simply hasn’t, until recently, required it. I would qualify that as it hasn't required it since the invention of air conditioning. Which also isn't strictly true; the high temperature for Paris on July 1st this year is identical to the high for the same day back in 2015[1], and there are several times since 1970 that the temperature was over 30C. Other sources[2] indicate 1947 was just as brutal as 2019 and 2022, and the warmest night was in 1772 (27.5C) [1] https://weatheronthisday.com/intl/paris/7/1 https://weatheronthisday.com/intl/paris/7/1 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Paris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Paris (standard Wikipedia reliability warning applies)
- rplnt 2mo ago
  Outside air temperature isn't an issue. It's not like people drop dead the moment it hits 40. The problem is that after a few days of that everything is heated up through and you have no place to escape it. That's new and hasn't been happening before.
  - account42 2mo ago
    But "somewhat longer heatwave" isn't as scary sounding as "HOTTEST EVER RECORDED TEMPERATURE IN $LOCALE!!!!!!" which is why all the scaremongers keep screaming the latter.
    - ragequittah 2mo ago
      We're warned of heatwaves and given instructions on how to not die all the time now. Not once did this occur when I was a child where I live. Record temperatures are more shown as an almanac style this is what's happened today whenever I see them. Personally I wish more scaremongering were happening right now.
      - kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 2mo ago
        > Personally I wish more scaremongering were happening right now. You might be the first person in history to say that

Forgeties79 2mo ago

> Many European countries have draconian laws about air conditioning that are killing people this summer. I keep seeing people say this but they don’t have any evidence, seen it tons online the last few weeks even on HN. What’s the deal? One person the other day went so far as to say that multiple EU nations have banned AC, which is completely false. You can absolutely have air-conditioning in Europe. Some places have stricter rules about permanent installation, such as HVACs in older areas, but there are plenty of air-conditioning units people can just pick up and use the same day in those cases. You can get AC units in European nations. You don’t have to just roast for no reason because of the government.

rplnt 2mo ago
Just to add, the regulations you mention aren't even about AC, it's about modifying buildings' "looks". You can still install AC if you figure out where to put the outside unit - roof, balcony, inner yard, ... Not everyone has the ability to install personal unit where they live, that's true, same way they can't install satellite dishes for example.

scott_w 2mo ago

I’ll take your word on the other points but this one: > Many European countries have draconian laws about air conditioning that are killing people this summer. Needs some debunking. In fact, I think you may have been fed lies because the UK government felt the need to specifically call this out: https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/25/air-conditioning-rules/ https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/25/air-conditioning-r... In short: AC in the home is legal in the UK subject to following regulations, both national and local. Councils are generally happy to tell you how to comply, in my experience with building control.

AnthonyMouse 2mo ago
Reading that sort of thing is kind of amusing, e.g.: > In most cases, planning permission is not required to install it for a small home if it would not materially affect the appearance of the building from outside. Substantially all air conditioning units affect the appearance of the building from the outside because they require a coil or vent somewhere on the exterior of the building to expel heat. > Building regulations already require new residential buildings, including houses, flats, student accommodation, residential care homes and children's homes, to be designed to minimise overheating. If planning permission for aircon was denied, worry not, because the building code now requires measures that will keep some new buildings to a temperature ten or twenty degrees cooler than the older buildings (planning permission for aircon likewise denied), which is quite a difference when even the newer buildings are over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. They wouldn't need to spin it like this if there weren't actually buildings where people want to install air conditioning and are prohibited from it, because if that was the case they would have said that.
- scott_w 2mo ago
  You're completely misreading regulations. "Materially affect" does not cover things like "puts a unit outside" because otherwise putting a satellite does would "materially affect the appearance of the building from outside," yet millions of people get Sky TV. > If planning permission for aircon was denied Again, this is not part of the article because it literally says you don't need planning permission! There are regulations you must follow about the size and location but, as long as those are followed, you don't need planning permission. At most, you alert Building Control who will tell you the process and, as long as you follow it, they will sign it off. For the avoidance of doubt: getting work signed off by your council's Building Control department is not planning permission. As long as your work follows the regulations, they will sign it off. Planning permission is ONLY needed if you want to do work outside of what building regs normally allow for residential properties. > They wouldn't need to spin it like this if there weren't actually buildings where people want to install air conditioning and are prohibited from it They wouldn't need to spin it like this if the media and their useful idiots like you didn't outright lie about what was actually happening.

gusgus01 2mo ago

Are you agreeing with the parent and giving examples of regulations that have been debated? Or are you trying to give examples of some of the "strawmen" regulations? A lot of these examples are pretty subjective or missing context...

zahlman 2mo ago

> decades ago(probably over a century can't be bothered to check). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion_Futures_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion_Futures_Act passed in 1958, just FYI.

Asmod4n 2mo ago

> Many European countries have draconian laws about air conditioning that are killing people this summer. There are very few laws which can say what you are allowed to do with your owned house. One of them is when it is of historical value. Then you aren’t allowed to change pretty much anything. The rest are just landlords who want to fuck you over.