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Whenever something bad happens which might in theory not have happened - a terrorist attack, the oil leak, the failed response to Katrina, a school shooting etc - there's usually a strong public mood that Something Must Be Done - either someone must be punished, or the rules must be changed, or both but very little sense as to which, what or even whether.
I think one should always follow the same steps:
1) Were there rules in place which, if followed, would have prevented this happening/made it less bad? 2) If so, why were they not followed - the person responsible may need to be punished. 3) If not, are there ways that the rules/laws can be changed that would make things like this less likely without doing more harm than good
The answer to 3) is often "no, making things like this less likely is not worth the cost, we should just endure".
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