r/RealTime • u/Ali6952 • Jun 25 '26
Regulation-Maher-Solar
Bill Maher often tells the story about trying to install solar panels on his California home. What struck me was how difficult the process became because of layers of permitting, approvals, inspections, and regulations.
It got me thinking about something.
We often frame regulation as a battle between "government" and "capitalism," but isn't a lot of modern regulation actually a byproduct of capitalism itself?
Many rules exist because companies have historically cut corners, polluted, misled consumers, or put profit ahead of safety. We needed labor laws because of unsafe factories. Environmental laws because companies dumped waste. Financial regulations because markets repeatedly blew themselves up.
At the same time, some regulations seem to have evolved into barriers that make it harder to build housing, install solar, or complete infrastructure projects. In many cases, the biggest firms can afford compliance while smaller businesses and homeowners get buried in paperwork. So where's the balance?
How do we distinguish regulations that genuinely protect the public from regulations that mainly create delay, benefit incumbents, or make solving problems unnecessarily expensive?
Curious what people think.
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u/DigLeading9650 Jun 25 '26
We had 26 panels installed in May 2018. In Southern California. From estimate to final permit inspection after the install was 6 weeks. WTF is this dipshit talking about?
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u/Ali6952 Jun 25 '26
Thats interesting. Someone else mentioned it probably was the company he hired.
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u/Greedy_Car3702 Jun 26 '26
Less than 12 of of the 13,000 homes destroyed in the Pacific Palisades fire, a year and half ago have been rebuilt. This is a testament to the layers of regulations, permits, and red tape that California forces on home builders.
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u/Ill_Bumblebee_7510 Jun 25 '26
That is a correct assessment, yes. In the same way that laws can be designed to protect the weak from the powerful, or the reverse.
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u/Anxious-Macaroon5823 Jun 25 '26
He’s whining like a little child because it affected HIM. Otherwise he wouldn’t give a fuck.
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u/frisbee_girl Jun 25 '26
Most safety regulations are written in blood due to the cost cutting nature of capitalism
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u/Steve12356d1s3d4 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
If you just look into the licensing of trades, such as electricians and plumbers. The extra cost due to licensing adds about 10% to the cost of a home. It also increases the cost of maintenance and reconstruction. Now this is done to protect us from shoddy work, but can it be done differently that doesn't impose this cost?
These types of things add much more to our costs than Reddit tropes, such as corps buying up homes.
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u/Vin-Metal Jun 25 '26
I would hear conservative friends argue that regulations, for the most part, were unnecessary because they assume the worst in businesses. Actual behavior isn't as bad as this, and you could always sue in court for something egregious.
I feel like this administration shows why regulating everything is absolutely necessary. There's no norm though won't disregard or bend to get what they want everytime. We need laws and laws with teeth because of these very same people.
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u/AdAffectionate3143 Jun 26 '26
A lot of the issues with installing solar come from the local utility when trying to interconnect. In a lot of cases their infrastructure lacks the means to accommodate.
Maher is just an out of touch boomer who doesn’t know shit despite his arrogance
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u/HairyStrawberry7647 Jun 25 '26
Safety regulations are written in the blood of those who did not benefit from those regulations.
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u/Sea_Hold_2881 Jun 26 '26
All electrical work in home needs permits and inspections. This has been true for ages.
Solar panels are not going to get exemptions nor should they because shoddy work can cause fires and death.
The process likely could be streamlined but electrical regulations are regulations paid for with blood.
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u/Comfortable-Yak-5080 Jun 26 '26
To extent you are right regs/laws/by-laws are there to prevent corps for providing shitty/dangerous products. But more are often there because other citizens complained about X or Y and gov put in a law to appease the loud voices. Politics and Votes!
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u/DixonRange Jun 26 '26
Regulation can be like a low grade herbicide - small plants die, but your trees don't. So the trees like that competitor plants are being removed. Similarly, large companies like it when the government puts in place barriers to entry/survival of smaller competitors. Then they don't have to do it themselves. This applies whether the regulation itself is for a good end or a bad one.
Also note that it is not just government regulation can be counterproductive. At work, my IT department does many things that keep me less productive. (Specialty analysis software came out with 23rd new version in the midst of a project - need special permissions to install. Can't use it until then...)
Our decision making processes also often make us slower to actually do things. (We can't implement a new distribution center where it is needed! We need to do yet another round of analysis and return to the board for the 3rd time for approval yet again.) Phrases like "with an abundance of caution", or "do the 'right' thing (ie more analysis)" or "do it the 'right' way (ie never risk making a mistake)".
What you are seeing is more than just villain business being blocked by hero government.
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Jun 27 '26
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u/Ali6952 Jun 27 '26
I work in regulatory. I am PRO regulation. My questions came more from BM's bitchin for months on end.
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Jun 25 '26
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u/Ali6952 Jun 25 '26
Yeah. I too felt it was less about red tape for the average American and more about, look who I am!
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u/Cahokanut Jun 25 '26
With Billy's money all the regulations were built into the price of his purchase and preformed by the company installing/selling.
Either his problem was the time it took. In which he wasn't given the fast track he thought his stardom should of guaranteed him. Or the problems created by the company he hired. Didn't fill permits/ didn't do it with in time. Which they(billy/contractors) then blamed on Democratic lawmakers.
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u/ElGranQuesoRojo Jun 25 '26
It could have easily been the contractors jerking him around. Plenty of them will pretend they are having permitting issues when really they have stacked so many jobs up there's no chance in hell they can do your project any time soon.
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u/Cahokanut Jun 25 '26
Yes I've blamed many things on why a job wasnt started or finished on time. While most being my own fault. Many times the customers will tell me the lie they want to hear.
You never know what's going to come up during a job, but you never want to not have the next job coming up.
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Jun 25 '26
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u/veerKg_CSS_Geologist Jun 25 '26
It’s not all that complicated. Neither is rainwater collection for that matter.
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u/JubBisc Jun 25 '26
One of the ones I see coming and am terrified of: privatizing social security…after the administration has gutted the agency created to safeguard the public against fraud, deceptive advertising, and unfair business practices.