houri

（20）本月机经 3次 上月机经0次
V1 现在人都追求长寿，但是不应该最大限度的提高average life span.因为许多人说这样会给资源很大负担，并且会影响每一个人的life quality.
V2人们都想extend the human life span，可是这样会浪费资源，降低每个人的生活质量
原题:Although most people wish to live long lives, attempting to significantly extend the average human life span would be a mistake. If achieved, this would place an enormous burden on resources, lowering the quality of life for everyone.

houri

（21）本月机经 2次 上月机经7次
should 人们 be paid 当他们 beneficial to the 社会 with their profession?
考古
V1大概就是paid should be paid according to the beneficial the profession to society
V2一个人的PAY取决于How beneficial his profession is to the society
没找到对应题库
提供观点：
[反驳]重点放在professional上，专业知识固然重要，但一个人的工作能力不是仅凭专业技术能评定的，还有处理问题的能力、创新能力、和上下级沟通的能力等等
[同意]工资依能力而定，能带给社会更大的贡献，理应获得更高的收入

houri

（22）本月机经 1次 上月机经8次
现在的含有violence 因素的节目，比如电影，电视，音乐都很popular，因此生产商应该继续produce这样的含有violence因素的其他产品
感觉类似于GMAT AWA og 224篇范文-54. “Popular entertainment is overly influenced bycommercial interests. Superficiality, obscenity, and violence characterizefilms and television today because those qualities are commerciallysuccessful.”
考古：
V1.portray violent in entertainment product bring commercial benefits so the those who creates entertainment product should continue incorporate violence in their product.
V2.大众媒体包括television，song等等由于涉及violence得到了好处，所以有些人建议这些涉及大众媒体的公司应当继续生产包括violence的产品。

Portrayals of violence have proven commercially successful in television programs, movies, songs, and other forms of popular entertainment. Therefore, those who create popular entertainment should continue to incorporate violence into their products.
中文的大概意思是－在电视节目、电影、歌曲及其他形式的大众娱乐节目中加入暴力被证明是成功的商业模式。因此，那些创做流行的娱乐节目的人应该继续将其纳入到自己的产品中去。
类似AI054 ：Popular entertainment is overly influenced by commercial interests. Superficiality, obscenity, and violence characterize films and televsion today because those qualities are commercially successful.

北美范文
Clearly, most popular films and television shows are superficial and/or include a certain amount of violence or obscenity. Just as clearly, popularity leads to commercial success. But can we conclude that these productions are overly influenced by commercial interests? Perhaps not, since some popular films and television shows are neither superficial, obscene, nor violent. Closer scrutiny, however, reveals that most such productions actually support, not disprove, the thesis that commercial interests dictate movie and television content. (哪有必要作这样的二次转折)
One would-be (自称自许的)threat to the thesis can be found in lower-budget independent films, which tend to focus more on character development and topical social issues than on sensationalism. Recently, a few such films have supplanted Hollywood’s major studio productions as top box-office (adj. 票房的) hits. Does this mean that profit potential no longer dictates the content of films? No; it simply suggests that the tastes and preferences of the movie-going public are shifting.A second ostensible challenge to the thesis can be found in companies such as Disney, whose productions continue to achieve great popularity and commercial success, without resort to an appeal to baser interests. Yet it is because these productions are commercially successful that they proliferate.
The only cogent challenge to the thesis is found in perennial television favorites such as “Nova,” a public television show that is neither commercially supported nor influenced. However, such shows are more in the nature of education than entertainment, and for every one program like “Nova” there are several equally popular—and highly superficial—programs.
With few exceptions, then, commercial success of certain films and television shows is no accidental byproduct of popularity; it is the intentional result of producers’ efforts to maximize profits.

houri

（23）本月机经 2次 上月机经7次
No.24 A powerful business leader has far more opportunity to influence the course of a community and a nation than does any government official
24. “一个有力的企业领导比一个政府官员有更多的机会影响一个社团或国家的方针。”
提供观点：
1.        每一个政府官员都很难自己做出决策。每一个政令的颁布表面上仿佛是由一个人宣布的，其实背后的程序过程都是十分繁杂的。seperation of the three powers(the legislative, executive and judicial powers) In this work he argued that the three powers a state has are the Legislative, the Executive and the Judicial and that for a state to remain democratic, these powers must be separated and there must be checks and balances to prevent a single group from acquiring control over two or more of them.
任何一个政府官员做出决定都可能受到上司甚至是同事的限制，即使是总统，其实也仅仅是他的领导班子共同商议做出结论，更何况三权分立在保护了民主的同时本身也限制了每个个人甚至是每个group的决策权利以及对国家和社区的影响。
2.        而企业领导往往会有更大的决策权，而他们的决策也更容易被贯彻。在一个经济为中心的国家相应的他们的对社区和国家的影响力也就更大。
3.        诚然在一个以政治为中心的国家里，企业领导对社区和国家产生影响的机会会较少，但经济是政治的基础，离开经济政治是毫无影响力可言的。此外由于上面所说过的原因政府官员对社区和国家的影响同样不会很大。
goverment order procedure process complex complicated intricate higher-up subordinate superior
restict restriction confine constrain curb administration collective the seperation of the three powers: the legislative the executive and the judicial decision-making carry out implement perform politics-centered economy-centered influence effect impact historical influential abound
on balance=with all things considered admittedly opportunity commerce commercial check-and-balance system 制约平衡制度 scandal illuminate illumination luminous lumination technic technical technology technician technological entity equity seems to pale next to...
Yet the impact seems to pale next to those of our modern captains of industry.
by virture of for the sake of on the account of

1.        Admittedly, 领导人的作用有时不象企业家一样apparent. 因为国家的发展，人们的生活，与企业closely related. 比如GATES，领导了信息产业革命；Rockefeller，控制国家的石油命脉took control of  American oil supply。企业家通过影响企业的行为，从而直观上影响人course of a community.
2.        但是，企业的一切影响is based on its existence, which is permitted by the government. 政府制定各种policy来允许企业的存在，企业家的一切行为需要被政府允许才能产生作用。
3.        Moreover, 影响一个国家，需要强大的power, which can be only generated from absolutely authority. 这样的绝对权力是企业不具备的。Yet even a cursory review of the history reveals substantial evidence that it is the government leader rather than the business leader that can make the pivotal decision when the nation is in crisis. 比如，在经济recession，企业的力量无法使经济好转，revive the economy of the whole nation, 只有政府运用行政措施，制定positive policy to stimulate the companies and thus the economy of the whole nation. 比如Roosevelt. Bill Clinton.  financial policy

View 1: Unlike business leader, government power is likely to subject to many more restraints.  Our check-and-balance system, the legislation influence and the voting power are all factors that temper the power of government official to the course of a community or a nation. Moreover, powerful business leaders all too often seem to hold the actual legislative and judicial power by their financial supporting of official activities such as governmental elections.
View2: While take more thorough consideration, the government official is likely to have more direct and broad influence on a community and a nation.
Evidence: various approach to influence other than financial approach
In addition the governmental official have the abilities to regulate commerce,   

北美范文：
Historical examples of both influential public officials and influential business leaders abound. However, the power of the modern-era business leader is quite different from that of the government official. On balance, the CEO seems to be better positioned to influence the course of community and of nations.
Admittedly the opportunities for the legislator to regulate commerce or of the jurist to dictate rules of equity are official and immediate. No private individual can hold that brand of influence. Yet official power is tempered by our check-and-balance system of government and, in the case of legislators, by the voting power of the electorate. Our business leaders are not so constrained, so, their opportunities far exceed those of any public official. Moreover, powerful business leaders all too often seem to hold de facto legislative and judicial power by way of their direct influence over public officials, as the Clinton Administration’s fund-raising scandal of 1997 illuminated all too well.
The industrial and technological eras have bred such moguls of capitalism as Pullman, Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Gates, who by the nature of their industries and their business savvy, not by force of law, have transformed our economy, the nature of work, and our very day-to-day existence. Of course, many modern-day public servants have made the most of their opportunities—for example, the crime-busting mayor Rudolph Giuliani and the new-dealing President Franklin Roosevelt. Yet their impact seems to pale next to those of our modern captains of industry.
In sum, modem business leaders by virtue of the far-reaching impact of their industries and of their freedom from external constraints, have supplanted lawmakers as the great opportunists of the world and prime movers of society.

houri

（24）本月机经 1次 上月机经5次
No.39 It is difficult for people to achieve professional success without sacrificing important aspects of a fulfilling personal life.”
39. “人们要在不牺牲实现个人生活的重要方面的情况下达到专业成功是很难的。”
提供观点：
1.        两者并不矛盾而是相互促进相辅相成
2.        科学技术的进步使人更高效率的工作也能让人更好的协调两者的关系
3.        诚然一定的牺牲是必然要做出的但是绝对不是生活中的重要方面

1.        cost of living, growing population, increasingly scarce resource… all contribute to a radical competitive society. 是客观条件force people to work longer hours, 自然, 无法避免地剥夺了人们的personal life. 这一点在很多发展中国家尤其明显:缺乏社会福利lack of social welfare, 人口膨胀population explosion, 人们面临更大的失业压力.
2.        而反对这种观点的人说, 先进的科技已经帮助人们沟通更加便利,提高效率, 甚至在家中办公, 已经大大地减少了对个人生活的压榨. 但是close scrutiny will reveal that 事实上,这种进步,更加剧了exacerbate人们工作的强度intensity. 提高的效率, 更要求人们一天干更多事, 在家中办公的可能, 也被充分地利用成了加班overtime.

View1: a fulfilling personal life guarantees a healthy mind and energetic body which enhance professional performance.
View2: Having a joyful career to devote to also in turn help to ensure a fulfilling personal life.
View3: if to achieve professional success must have something to sacrifice, the things may not necessarily the important aspects of personal lives.

北美范文：
Are professional success and a fulfilling personal life mutually exclusive? Probably not, although it is more difficult today to achieve both.
Undeniably, today’s professionals must work long hours to keep their heads above water, let alone to get ahead in life financially. This is especially true in Japan, where cost of living, coupled with corporate culture, compel professional males to all but abandon their families and literally to work themselves to death. While the situation here in the states (United States) may not be as critical, the two-income family is now the norm, not by choice but by necessity.
However, our society’s professionals are taking steps to remedy the problem. First, they are inventing ways—such as job sharing and telecommuting—to ensure that personal life does not take a backseat to career. Second, they are setting priorities and living those hours outside the workplace to the fullest. In fact, professional success usually requires the same time-management skills that are useful to find time for family, hobbies, and recreation. One need only look at the recent American presidents—Clinton, Bush, Reagan, and Carter—to see that it is possible to lead a balanced life which includes time for family, hobbies, and recreation, while immersed in a busy and successful career. Third, more professionals are changing careers to ones which allow for some degree of personal fulfillment and self-actualization. Besides, many professionals truly love their work and would do it without compensation, as a hobby. For them, professional fulfillment and personal fulfillment are one and the same.
In conclusion, given the growing demands of career on today’s professionals, a fulfilling personal life remains possible by working smarter, by setting priorities, and by making suitable career choices.

houri

（25）本月机经 1次 上月机经5次
No.68 “Since the physical work environment affects employee productivity and morale, the employees themselves should have the right to decide how their workplace is designed.”
68. “由于物理工作环境影响雇员的生产力和士气，雇员自身应该有权决定如何设计他们的工作场所。”
提供观点：
1.        brings creativity and coziness
2.        makes colleagues more closely and companionate
3.        Admittedly, some companies such as consulting/consultant? company must avoid too much decoration.
However, no matter the employee or the employer, as for the environment is considered, compromise should be made from time to time.

View1: work character has great influence on the design of workplace.
Evidence: consulting company must avoid too much decoration in order to appear professionally and dependably. To some creative work such as AD agency and fashion design, the decorating of workplace is important not only for simulating inspirations but also for showing creative abilities.
View2: also, the designment of workplace should be compromise to company culture.
Evidence: Consider the influence it has done to co-workers and the harmony in work place.

北美范文：
I agree that physical workspace can affect morale and productivity and that, as a result, employees should have a significant voice in how their work areas are designed. However, the speaker suggests that each employee should have full autonomy over his or her immediate workspace, I think this view is too extreme, for it ignores two important problems that allowing too much freedom over workspace can create.
On the one hand, I agree that some aspects of workspace design are best left to the individual preferences of each worker. Location of personal tools and materials, style and size of desk chair, and even desk lighting and decorative desk items, can each play an important role in a worker’s comfort, psychological wellbeing, concentration, and efficiency. Moreover, these features involve highly subjective preferences, so it would be inappropriate for anyone but the worker to make such choices.
On the other hand, control over one’s immediate workspace should not go unchecked, for two reasons. First, one employee’s workspace design may inconvenience, annoy, or even offend nearby coworkers. For example, pornographic pinups may distract some coworkers and offend others, thereby impeding productivity, fostering ill-will and resentment, and increasing attrition—all to the detriment of the company. Admittedly, the consequences of most workspace choices would not be so far-reaching. Still, in my observation many people adhere, consciously or not, to the adage that one person’s rights extend only so far as the next person’s nose. A second problem with affording too much workspace autonomy occurs when workspaces are not clearly delineated—by walls and doors—or when workers share an immediate workspace. In such cases, giving all workers concurrent authority would perpetuate conflict and undermine productivity.
In conclusion, although employees should have the freedom to arrange their work areas, this freedom is not absolute. Managers would be well-advised to arbitrate workspace disputes and, if needed, assume authority to make final decisions about workspace design.

houri

（26）本月机经 1次 上月机经12次
No.33 “People are likely to accept as a leader only someone who has demonstrated an ability to perform the same tasks that he or she expects others to perform.”
33. “人们只愿意接受这样的领导：他能完成他要求其他人完成的任务。”
提供观点：
1.        人们不会尊重一个不能完成他要求别人完成的任务自己却不能完成的领导。这是人之常情，人们通常都只会欣赏和尊敬比自己优秀的人，而不喜欢被一个不能完成任务却命令自己去做的人心存敬意。例如克林顿总统当commander-in-chief 的时候，由于众所周知他曾经逃避兵役，很自然的下级军官和士兵都不是很尊重他。
2.        人们不信任一个自己完不成任务却要求别人去完成的人。仍然举克林顿总统的例子。由于他逃兵役被视为没有能力，下级都对他的决策心存怀疑，这也就潜在的导致了执行上的不尽心不尽力。
3.        诚然是否能完成自己交给别人的任务并不是衡量一个leader重要指标。可能领导能力、,组织能力、运筹能力更为重要，但是我们不能忽视人们心理上的看法，尽管它可能并不合理但它确实是存在的。
normal human feelings admire adore respect superior to evade escape military service subordinate soldier be doubtful of be suspicious of execution implement admittedly true potentially evaluate index leadership psychological psychology psychologic psychologist exist subsist ...in ... serves as a fitting and public example
1.        诚然，如果在其领导的领域内几乎一窍不通，一个领导很难得到下属的信任和支持，会被看作layperson. 比如，人们无法想象一个不具备任何电脑知识的人，该如何领导一个庞大的IT企业，比如MICROSOFT在激烈的市场中竞争。
2.        但是，这是否意味着作为领导，必须要有能力完成每一项他要求下属做的事呢？这个问题，与领导和员工的真正作用有很大关系！首先，领导的职责是制定长期的发展方针，并且保证这个方针的贯彻执行，adhere to their strategic plans不被偏离。组织员工共同合作完成任务。on the other hand, 员工的作用是各司其职，更加具体的specific task.
3.        从以上两种职责不难看出，领导与员工起到significantly different functions，让领导完成每一个subordinate要做的工作，unfair的。比如，不能blame a CEO for lacking the skills of typing。要对下属做的事有很好的了解，但不一定都要做。否则，领导就失去了意义，成为了一个全能的工人。omnipotent worker with all kinds of skills.

View1: It is human nature to admire then follow someone who is more competent than themselves.
View2: But a feature of a good leader is to organize people with different specialities together and let them perform as a whole. It is too ideal to expect the leaders to have all the specialities of his subordinates.

北美范文：
People are more likely to accept the leadership of those who have shown they can perform the same tasks they require of others. My reasons for this view involve the notions of respect and trust.
It is difficult for people to fully respect a leader who cannot, or will not, do what he or she asks of others. President Clinton’s difficulty in his role as Commander-in-Chief serves as a fitting and very public example. When Clinton assumed this leadership position, it was well known that he had evaded military service during the Vietnam conflict. Military leaders and lower-level personnel alike made it clear that they did not respect his leadership as a result. Contrast the Clinton case with that of a business leader such as John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, who by way of his training and experience as a computer engineer earned the respect of his employees.
It is likewise difficult to trust leaders who do not have experience in the areas under their leadership. The Clinton example illustrates this point as well. Because President Clinton lacked military experience, people in the armed forces found it difficult to trust that his policies would reflect any understanding of their interests or needs. And when put to the test, he undermined their trust to an even greater extent with his naive and largely bungled attempt to solve the problem of gays in the military. In stark contrast, President Dwight Eisenhower inspired nearly devotional trust as well as respect because of his role as a military hero in World War II.
In conclusion, it will always be difficult for people to accept leaders who lack demonstrated ability in the areas under their leadership. Initially, such leaders will be regarded as outsiders, and treated accordingly. Moreover, some may never achieve the insider status that inspires respect and trust from those they hope to lead.

houri

（27）本月机经 1次 上月机经4次
issuge 是 那个神马 employers have the rights to attain information about employees' health and other respects private lives. 恩，就是各种说吧。
No.60 “Employers should have no right to obtain information about their employees’ health or other aspects of their personal lives without the employees’ permission.”
60. “没有雇员的同意时，雇主应该没有权力去了解他的雇员的健康状况和其他的私人生活方面的信息。”
提供观点：
1.员工的私人生活状况，很可能影响工作效率。productivity and turnover，所以雇主有理由关心。比如，健康问题，良好的健康状况显然是保障正常稳定生产的基础，雇主付出相同的钱，expect to get certain productivity. 而员工隐瞒健康状况，造成的低效率高成本，会使公司suffer。在雇佣时拥有对称的信息，很重要。
2.同时，员工的私人状况，如果会危害到其他员工，那么应该有权得这知。比如，健康状况，犯罪的历史等等重大事件。健康，会infect other employee/ 暴力 history of crimes violence 很可能会对其他的员工造成伤害。这些都是必须要知道的。
3.但有一些其他的私人生活，与工作效率无关，而且不是threat to others。employer 没有权力获取。比如，婚姻状况marital status, religion, race…这些都应该是员工自愿提供的with permission，而不能强制获得force。

View1: as human resources is one of the most important fortunes to a company, companies should know the health conditions of their employees. Decide whether a worker is competent for a job, decide cost on medical cares, ensure productivity
View2: other aspects of employees’ personal life, if not directly related to work performance, are not need to expose to employers.
北美范文：
Determining whether employers should have access to personal information about employees requires that the interests of businesses in ensuring productivity and stability be weighed against concerns about equity and privacy interests. On balance, my view is that employers should not have the right to obtain personal information about current employees without their consent.
A business’ interest in maintaining a stable, productive workforce clearly justifies right of access to certain personal information about prospective employees. Job applicants can easily conceal personal information that might adversely affect job performance, thereby damaging the employer in terms of low productivity and high turnover. During employment, however, the employee’s interests are far more compelling than those of the employer, for three reasons.
First, the employer has every opportunity to monitor ongoing job performance and to replace workers who fail to meet standards, regardless of the reason for that failure. Second, allowing free access to personal information about employees might open the floodgates to discriminatory promotions and salary adjustments. Current federal laws—which protect employees from unfair treatment based on gender, race, and marital status, may not adequately guard against an employer’s searching for an excuse to treat certain employees unfairly. Third, access to personal information without consent raises serious privacy concerns, especially where multiple individuals have access to the information. Heightening this concern is the ease of access to information which our burgeoning electronic Intranets make possible.
In sum, ready access to certain personal information about prospective employees is necessary to protect businesses; however, once hired, an employee’s interest in equitable treatment and privacy far outweighs the employer’s interest in ensuring a productive and stable workforce.

houri

（28）本月机经 2次 上月机经10次
建立一个competitive的教育系统，来使economy更successful，包括国内和国际的学生之间的竞争神马的，上个月的狗狗里有看到过
考古
V1在教育系统中应该引入学生之间的竞争，以及我们的学生和外国学生的竞争，这样国家才能取得ECONOMIC方面的成功。
V2 一个国家决定要建立一个新的educational system，让学生的竞争力越来越强，这样才能提高他们的经济地位。
V3.应该是GMAT范文精讲里的Issue 99。原题好像是A nation should have a competitive educational system to ensure its own economic success。

黄金80原题：
“If a nation is to ensure its own economic success, it must maintain a highly competitive educational system in which students compete among themselves and against students from other countries.”
“如果一个国家要确保它的经济成功，它必须保持有高度竞争力的教育系统，在其中学生们相互竞争，还和国外的学生进行竞争。”
分析
1，        advantage: make students better prepared for the future competition, etc.
2，        disadvantages:very pressure and stressful
3，        a refined educational system is preferred
提供观点：
View1: education play a very important part in determine a nation’s economic success.
Employees, government regulation strategies, corporate management level, technology—competitive power of products  
View2: as the development of open market and global economy, education is also required to face international challenge.
Although sometimes competition might produce desired results such as efficiency and productivity, I still believe that our national economic success will be better promoted by an educational system that encourages cooperative learning among students, and with students from other countries.
being competitive fixes our focus externally, on marking and beating the progress of others with whom we compete. Such external motivation can direct our attention away from creative solutions to our problems, and away from important human values like cooperation and fair play. Indeed, a highly competitive environment can foster cheating and ruthless back-stabbing within an organization, and ill-will and mistrust among nations. In the extreme case, competition between nations becomes war.
北美范文
I don’t think it is a good idea to design an educational system that focuses mainly on competition. For although a little competition might produce desired results, in the long run too much competition will be destructive. Instead, I believe that our national economic success will be better promoted by an educational system that encourages cooperative learning among students, and with students from other countries.
Granted, competitiveness is an important aspect of human nature. And, properly directed, it can motivate us to reach higher and produce more, not to mention meet deadlines. But being competitive fixes our focus externally, on marking and beating the progress of others with whom we compete. Such external motivation can direct our attention away from creative solutions to our problems, and away from important human values like cooperation and fair play. Indeed, a highly competitive environment can foster cheating and ruthless back-stabbing within an organization, and ill-will and mistrust among nations. In the extreme case, competition between nations becomes war.
On the other hand, an environment of cooperation encourages us to discover our common goals and the best ways to achieve them. At the national and international levels, our main interests are in economic wellbeing and peace. In fact, economic success means little without the security of peace. Thus, global peace becomes a powerful incentive for developing educational models of cooperative learning, and implementing exchange programs and shared research projects among universities from different countries.
Moreover, research suggests that cooperative settings foster greater creativity and productivity than competitive ones. This has been shown to be the case both in institutions of higher learning and in business organizations. If true, it seems reasonable to argue that national economic success would be similarly tied to cooperative rather than competitive effort.
In conclusion, competition can provide an effective stimulus to achievement and reward. Even so, I believe it would be unwise to make competition the centerpiece of our educational system. We stand to reap greater benefits, including economic ones, by encouraging cooperative learning.

houri

（29）本月机经 1次 上月机经5次
AA 科学家不断制定新标准，公司等政府出台相关规定才进行改变
No.42 “Scientists are continually redefining the standards for what is beneficial or harmful to the environment. Since these standards keep shifting, companies should resist changing their products and processes in response to each new recommendation until those recommendations become government regulations.”
42. “科学家在不断重新制定对环境什么是有利的，什么是有害的的标准。由于这些标准不停变动，面对新建议，公司应该保持他们的产品和流程不变直到新的建议成为国家标准为止。”
提供观点：
4.        科学家的建议也并不一定都是正确的。很有可能他的结论适用面很窄。或者他所得到的数据有错误等等。
5.        对企业来说频繁的变更产品和生产流程会造成很大的经济损失
6.        诚然等待国家制定标准很可能存在滞后等问题但是比较起来以上的问题还是应该等待国家制定标准。此外一个折中的方案是国家成立专门的机构快速地对新的方案和建议做出评价并迅速制定标准
split the difference lag evaluate
View1: The recommendations given by scientists are usually controversial or have inconsistent perspectives on same questions, thus can not provide clear directions on actions that companies should adopt,
View 2: changing products and processes too often will inevitably increase cost and lower productivity. Therefore do harm to the companies .
View3: while waiting for government regulations may draw back the processes of solving the problems, it is relatively a better strategy for companies to follow. We can count on the authorities to speed up the process of conversion between scientific discoveries and official regulations.

北美范文：
The speaker argues that because scientists continually shift viewpoints about how our actions affect the natural environment, companies should not change their products and processes according to scientific recommendations until the government requires them to do so. This argument raises complex issues about the duties of business and about regulatory fairness and effectiveness. Although a wait-and-see policy may help companies avoid costly and unnecessary changes, three countervailing considerations compel me to disagree overall with the argument.
First, a regulatory system of environmental protection might not operate equitably. At first glance, a wait-and-see response might seem fair in that all companies would be subject to the same standards and same enforcement measures. However, enforcement requires detection, and while some violators may be caught, others might not. Moreover, a broad regulatory system imposes general standards that may not apply equitably to every company. Suppose, for example, that pollution from a company in a valley does more damage to the environment than similar pollution from a company on the coast. It would seem unfair to require the coastal company to invest as heavily in abatement or, in the extreme, to shut down the operation if the company cannot afford abatement measures.
Secondly, the argument assumes that the government regulations will properly reflect scientific recommendations. However, this claim is somewhat dubious. Companies with the most money and political influence, not the scientists, might in some cases dictate regulatory standards. In other words, legislators may be more influenced by political expediency and campaign pork than by societal concerns.
Thirdly, waiting until government regulations are in place can have disastrous effects on the environment. A great deal of environmental damage can occur before regulations are implemented. This problem is compounded whenever government reaction to scientific evidence is slow. Moreover, the EPA might be overburdened with its detection and enforcement duties, thereby allowing continued environmental damage by companies who have not yet been caught or who appeal penalties.
In conclusion, despite uncertainty within the scientific community about what environmental standards are best, companies should not wait for government regulation before reacting to warnings about environmental problems. The speaker’s recommended approach would in many cases operate inequitably among companies: moreover, it ignores the political-corruption factor as well as the potential environmental damage resulting from bureaucratic delay.