Great Moments in Unintended Consequences (Vol. 4)

Good intentions, bad results.

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Black Liquor Bonanza

The Year: 2005
The Problem: Fossil fuel consumption is too high, and biodiesel consumption is too low!
The Solution: Create a generous tax credit for companies who blend fossil fuel with environmentally friendly biofuel.

Sounds like a great idea with the best of intentions. What could possibly go wrong?

Turns out paper companies were already using a pure biofuel known as "black liquor," which is produced during the paper-making process. It's a super convenient energy source to run paper plants and mills, but only blended fuels were eligible for the tax credit. 

So paper companies bought fossil fuel they didn't need, added it to the biofuel they were already using, and instantly qualified for very generous "blended alternative fuel" credits. Exactly the opposite of the tax credits' intent, but sometimes it all boils down to paper.

Billboard Bans

The year: 1968
The Problem: Billboards cluttering the scenic vistas of Vermont
The Solution: Ban Billboards.

Sounds like a great idea with the best of intentions. What could possibly go wrong?

As the billboards came down, something new popped up: a 12-foot gorilla holding up a Volkswagen. A giant squirrel in a striped bathing suit. A 19-foot genie holding a carpet. 

"A veritable zoo of Gargantuan concrete sculptures" all in the name of public art. 

It all seems a bit cute until a development dispute with the local bureaucracy results in a 700 lb middle finger on a 16-foot pole.  

Enjoy the view, Vermont!

Equal Pay in Colorado

The Year: 2019
The Problem: The Gender Pay Gap
The Solution: The Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act—a bevy of new regulations on employers, including a requirement that all forms of compensation be disclosed as part of every job listing, and a ban on asking job candidates about their salary history.

Sounds like a great idea with the best of intentions. What could possibly go wrong?

Not only does the law open up companies to new legal liabilities and administrative burdens, but it also hinders employer flexibility when it comes to hiring. As a result, some companies like Samsung, Century 21, Cigna, IBM, Nike, even PETA have simply excluded Colorado from their remote job listings.

Can't have a pay gap if you don't have a paycheck! Mission accomplished Colorado!

Written and produced by Meredith and Austin Bragg; narrated by Austin Bragg

[confusedone]

As much as I hate government overreach, I kind of like the fact that banning billboards created a whole new culture of advertising

[MortonFox]

There was one aspect of the Colorado law that I would like though - the requirement to disclose the compensation on job postings. The problem I run into when applying for jobs is when the job posting does not include a salary and I only find out when I go to the interview that the pay will be well below what one would expect. That's a big waste of time.

[JackyTheNerd]

I fail to see how giving the government the bird is a bad result.

[blainehowes]

This sounds like a fantastic new segment. The amount of material is endless due to government incompetence.

[GoatTheGoat]

1:02 Definitely have to dispute your take on the Vermont billboard ban. It has been amazingly successful. I drive by the giant Kampersville squirrel you mention often. It is not an eyesore. But a billboard sure would be. Everytime I travel out of state I'm accosted by ugly billboards.

[pyromcr]

Don't know man, billboard ban still sounds like it worked out fine

[jimbo]

Paper Mill: "We were already bio-friendly with our black liquor sourced from the trees we were already cutting down for paper."
Government: " Yeah, but you don't qualify for financial incentives."
Paper Mill: "We added fossil fuels to the mix."
Government: "Right. Here's your check."

[lefeal]

As a Vermont native, I do not view the art as a negative. Even if I hated all of it, it's not like people drop to their knees in awe whenever they see a billboard. Reasons why they're better.
1. There's like one or two dozen of the things in the entire state. You can see as many billboards from a single spot in countless big cities elsewhere.
2. The size. The actual advertisement part of a billboard is on average 14ft by 48ft, and that's hoisted 50+ ft into the air. A 12 ft gorilla that's on the ground isn't exactly blocking the horizon.
3. They're much more unique and interesting than the same ads we're already subjected to on tv, internet, radio, sides of busses, fliers, posters, etc.

[gregnulik]

That one about peta saying no to Colorado over wages is something.

[Paelorian]

The Vermont billboard ban sounds like a huge win. There will be less statues than billboards, as they're more expensive. If they're creative, they'll also he more pleasant to look it. Even the giant 700lb upright middle finger on a 16ft pole isn't so obnoxious, since there's only one. I actually like it. I wouldn't mind having one erected outside of the US Congress. I would be happy if my state sent a giant marble upright middle finger to the National Statuary Hall. That's what the federal government deserves.

[aegisofhonor]

on the first one, in a stroke of irony even for those "legitimately" making biofuel as intended by the law, it turns out that one gallon of bio fuel made from corn consumes around 1.5 gallons of fossil fuel (through the needed energy required to convert corn into biofuel which it turns out, is much harder then originally thought), only making it practical due to massive tax incentives. The reason it works better in places like Brazil is because in Brazil they mainly make it from sugar cane which can more easily convert to bio fuel with less energy.

[allthenewsordeath]

Just saying maybe the giant sculptures were the plan from the start, I mean they are a lot more fun to look at than billboards.

[smartass]

To be fair, to be fair, at least the Colorado bill got rid of PETA in Colorado. That was a great moment with unintended consequences.

[ThePoliticrat]

“In the ancient near East, about 6000 years ago, government was established for the very first time - good intentions, bad results.”

[TryNotTUnSubcribe]

More, I need more, my thirst is unquenchable for those videos

[zelda]

The real genius in this series is not "wait, how did that mess up?! It was so simple!" but instead "wait, it messed up like that? That's so out of left field."

[MortonFox]

The giant sculptures are more fun to look at than billboards. I saw a few of those in New Jersey too.

[ActuatedGear]

I nearly spit my coffee when I say the giant middle finger. I love stories like that.

[mathy]

The Vermont one looks like perfectly intended consequences. I loved the result. Gargantuan mascots instead of boring, easily ignorable billboards!

[freethebirds]

"Good intentions, bad results" perfectly sums up public education.