Quote of the Day: Rules versus Discretion

We talk about "regulation," but the real issue is rules vs. discretion. Regulating by simple clear rules is much better than regulation by discretion, or by rules so complex they amount to discretion. When a zoning inspector can come in after the fact and always find something wrong, it's in invitation to corruption. We are increasingly a country in which "regulation" means that regulators can tell people what to do on a whim, not one in which clear objective rules are imposed.

That’s from University of Chicago Professor John H. Cochrane. It’s really rule of law versus arbitrary edicts, legislation or regulations. Again corruption is an offshoot to the latter.