Regulate, please, so I must not think

On February 28th, 2022, the State of New Jersey introduced a bill that places guidelines on how the technology of paper can be used. Anything owned or created or represented with paper, from art to memberships to assets, would be affected and subject to strict licensing.

Gone are the days that any Picasso off the street can scribble some colour on a sheet of paper and sell it freely to someone else. No more autographs or novels or business can be conducted on the modern medium without overcoming much needed scrutiny from the State of New Jersey.

Regulation has come at a time when it is needed most. When people are being exploited by choosing to buy things. How could someone be expected to be responsible for having good sense in the purchase decisions they make? How could someone be allowed to freely express themselves on a sheet of paper without the government knowing a thing or two about it?

Decisions like this will be looked back on as progress. It’s because we don’t know any better that we need the government to make sure we’re not getting ourselves into trouble. If we had any common sense, or any sense at all then sure, no such regulations would be needed. But, considering that’s obviously not the case, how could we be expected to thrive in a world where the government lets us make our own decisions?

Many artists and businesses that use paper technology consider this law to be a callous overreach for regulators into an industry they don’t fully understand. They say regulators are only seeing paper technology for the scams and lies that have been printed on it, not for the technology that it represents. Which is the ability to create and own a physical asset. The regulators say paper is nothing more than an enabler for crooks and thieves and black market activity. Fearful of something they don’t understand, the public is applauding the move.

We should be grateful that our government cares enough about our safety not to let it fall into our own hands. Freedom to feel secure comes at the cost of liberty; a price we should be glad to pay.

To learn more about the white knuckling of control over the masses, read the bill for yourself.