When you think about things that really need a lot of oversight when they are sold used, what springs to mind? How far down that list are music CDs? Apparently states are passing new laws putting restrictions on how you can sell used CDs. Dear bob, does the insanity have no bounds? Florida now has a waiting period that prevents retailers from selling the CD inventory until 30 days after they purchased it. Can this have any other real intention than driving used CD retailers out of business? The ostensible purpose is to combat counterfeit CDs, but making stores sit on the new inventory for 30 days seems designed to hurt their cash flow and reduce the viability of their business.

I think it was Freakonomics that pointed out that a healthy used market for entertainment goods counter-intuitively helps sell more new goods. You'd think they were competing for the same dollars but their finding was that having a place to sell the used goods back makes it less risky to purchase new. I can only hope that is true, and that the Big Music Machine having gotten their way on yet another bit of draconian protectionist legislation finds themselves making ever less money. Of course, if that happens the fault will always be elsewhere other than their business practices. Big Music can never do wrong, you know.