Do you believe that overall government regulation serves useful purposes? Why or why not?

Government regulations serve an important role in society. Regulations are often enacted after tragedies to reduce the likelihood of that event repeating. For example, the Coconut Grove fire on 28 November 1942 in Boston resulted in several major changes to fire safety. The disaster killed 492 people and injured 130 other people in part due to the lack of fire exits. The club only had a single revolving door which became jammed because of the numerous patrons trying to escape through it at the same time. As a result, fire laws later changed to require that businesses with revolving doors have outward opening doors with panic bar openers as well. The panic bar, which was created after another tragic fire, enables people to open doors more easily especially when they are panicking. Following the fire at Coconut Grove, fire officials estimated that 300 people would have survived if the club had used outward opening doors rather than a revolving door. Another important thing to remember about government regulations is that companies are only willing to devote so much of their resources to ensuring safety; it is much more efficient that a government agency specialize in a particular aspect of safety, such as airline safety or food safety.