Dear Editor:
Government regulation is constantly demonized, by many businesses, corporations, rightwing politicians, and the Media that supports them. What are the complaints about regulations? They take up a business’ time, and cost the business money. They are unnecessarily harsh, and are imposed by unelected bureaucrats. A popular political accusation is that they are a tool of “the left” to ‘cripple American capitalism.’ The complaints range from regulations just being just an aggravation, to ‘out of control’ regulation signaling the end of civilization as we know it.
Republican politicians, including the President, tell citizens that regulations are horrible, that they put job-creating industries out of business, unfairly cripple American businesses, and are prime examples of “government overreach” or even “tyranny.” To gauge if any of this fearmongering is valid, we can look at examples of regulations, and judge if they serve a good purpose, or are just meant to do harm to Americans.
A simple government regulation perhaps most encountered by Americans is the STOP SIGN. The government says when you’re driving, and see the red octagonal STOP sign, you are mandated to stop. In Anti-Regulation fervor, should we eliminate all STOP signs, and “let freedom reign”? Obviously, chaos on our roads would ensue. Accidents and injuries would be the rule, and dealing with that chaos would become virtually the main thing Americans have to deal with daily. Traffic lights, signals, and yield signs would also be on the chopping block.
A STOP sign is a government regulation for public safety, and so are regulations aimed at pollution control (to take another example out of thousands). Human activity always has a cost. The question is, should a business be allowed to avoid the costs of cleaning up their own pollution, of our air and water? Should regulations be eliminated to allow businesses to, for example, pour their waste into a nearby river? Polluted rivers impose great costs to the health and health care expenses of those who live ‘downstream,’ and that public cost is caused by businesses avoiding cleaning up their own messes. IS THIS JUST A PRICE WE CITIZENS SHOULD HAVE TO PAY for allowing businesses to operate without any regulatory oversight?
EVERY SINGLE regulation has a similar story to the two listed above, of WHO SHOULD PAY THE COST of business activity, or regulations for public safety. Simple fairness would dictate that the person PROFITING should be the one to foot the bill for operating in a safe manner, taking responsibility for all the COSTS of earning that profit. Opponents of regulation want THE PUBLIC to foot that bill.
A valid business has NEVER been “shut down” by “outrageous” regulations. If a business can survive ONLY if it’s allowed to pass the costs of doing business on to the general public – to the public’s detriment – then that’s not a valid business.
Most citizens don’t have the time or inclination to become experts on what particular business activities are causing public costs. That’s why we have representatives, to hold hearings and look at facts and studies, and decide if a regulation is needed to protect the public, and to prevent businesses from shirking their responsibility to be good neighbors.
One thing we citizens should be aware of is that industries and corporations are allowed to “fund” elected representatives. Depending on how much funding an elected person receives and from WHOM, we should ask if the representative is representing and protecting THE PEOPLE who voted for him (or her), or is beholden to represent those who FUND him, and to hell with THE PEOPLE?
To be sure, a representative’s constituents include average working citizens, and also include businesses big and small. Both are important. It’s often not an easy task to strike a balance between the best interests of a business versus the best interests of the general public. Yet, this is the job of a representative, and decisions should not be decisively swayed by who is paying the most money for that decision.
As a final note, plenty of businesses over centuries of regulation have thrived while paying heed to the requirements regulations impose. We are the richest, most successful nation in history. A business or politician whining about wanting more profit while imposing COST “downstream” on THE PEOPLE is not a valid or compelling argument to eliminate regulations.
Jeff Harrison
Buffalo TX 75831
