Reprinted from Campaign For America's Future
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump and Republicans in general say "burdensome government regulations" are holding the economy back. Phrases like that sure sound ominous, as does another Republican favorite, "big government." But what do the words actually mean?
Trump: "We're going to get rid of all these ridiculous -- everything is so bad -- we're going to get rid of the regulations that are just destroying us."
In Trump's Detroit "economic speech" he said, "The U.S. economy today is 25 percent smaller than it would have been without the surge of regulations since 1980. It is estimated that current over-regulation is costing our economy as much as $2 trillion dollars a year -- that's money taken straight out of cities like yours." (By the way, 1980 was the year Ronald Reagan was elected.)
What Are "Burdensome Regulations?"
"Burdensome regulations" is a vague term that sounds bad, like "big government." What happens when you look at specifics? What are Trump and the Republicans talking about?
A June Politico report, "House Republicans take aim at regulations," might provide a clue.
"House Republicans are taking aim Tuesday at President Barack Obama's regulatory regime, arguing that the White House has impeded the economic recovery by flooding businesses with new rules."
Just what regulations do Republicans say are holding back business?
"The House GOP, in rolling out the third plank of their emerging policy agenda, will target a host of specific policies enacted under the Obama administration -- including net neutrality rules, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) put into place by the Dodd-Frank overhaul of financial regulations and a string of rules dealing with energy and climate change."
-- Net Neutrality rules keep giant telecommunications corporations from deciding what Americans can and cannot see and send over the internet.
-- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) protects Americans from being scammed, conned and defrauded by financial companies.
-- The (too weak) Dodd-Frank financial regulations are about keeping Wall Street from engaging in risky, speculative schemes that wipe out people's savings, bring down pension funds and destroy the entire economy.
-- The "string of rules dealing with energy and climate change" are (too weak) attempts to keep energy companies from completely destroying the entire planet.
Those are the regulations that Republicans were complaining were holding back the economy.
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