Deregulation Czar

Deregulation should be non-partisan.

Jimmy Carter, The Great Deregulator

A prior period of inflation prompted massive deregulation initiatives in Washington. President Carter even had a deregulation czar.

‘In 1978, President Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act, clearing the way for the CAB to be abolished a few years later.

‘President Carter later appointed Darius Gaskins, one of Kahn’s deputies at the CAB, to chair the ICC. The great success of airline deregulation paved the way for deregulation in other transportation modes and in telecommunications. In 1980, President Carter signed the Motor Carrier Act, which deregulated the trucking industry, the Staggers Rail Act, which introduced competition in rail rates, and the Telecommunications Act, which removed restrictions on long-distance phone service. These actions allowed new entrants into the markets, increased efficiency, lowered prices, offered consumers more choices, and likely contributed to declining inflation. Thanks in no small part to President Carter, competition in formerly regulated markets has not just reallocated resources but unleashed innovation and generated tens of billions of dollars in lasting benefits for consumers and society as a whole.’

Supreme Court ruling will rein in the regulatory GOAT

We’ve talked a great deal about Loper. Its importance cannot be understated. The scale of regulatory impact is daunting when compared to some of the signature legislation of this current Administration. Yet, it goes underreported.

‘Loper Bright reset the standard for judging federal rules, which the Biden administration has issued at an astounding pace. According to the federal government’s own estimate, the total cost of the administration’s regulatory agenda is a staggering $1.7 trillion annually. By comparison, that’s $250 billion more than Biden’s two signature legislative achievements combined — the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act — and nearly six times the total cost of the rules that the Obama administration had imposed at this point in its first term.’

Labour Victory: The Implications for Data Protection, AI and Digital Regulation in the UK

Is Labour going to replicate EU regulation in the UK? Could this be part of a softer re-engagement?

‘Unlike the European Union, whose AI Act is a comprehensive and wide-ranging law governing the development, deployment and use of artificial intelligence, the previous UK government introduced a light-touch regulatory framework for AI that relies on existing laws and regulatory authorities. The Labour Party’s stated position broadly maintains the status quo in the UK. However, organisations in the UK that have European operations or place or put AI systems into service in the EU are likely subject to the AI Act, and therefore will need to determine whether or not to put in place a Europe-wide AI governance framework that also applies to their UK business (i.e., undercutting of a light-touch regulatory framework).’

Abandon caution, embrace risk: a growth recipe for Labour

Andy Haldane proposes an independent royal commission on regulation in the UK.

‘Regulatory rulebooks should follow it into the shredder. The UK’s growing army of regulators, while individually well intentioned, have become a collective blight on private sector innovation, prioritising risk avoidance over dynamism. An independent royal commission is needed to reassess regulators’ statutory objectives and cultures to make them growth, risk and innovation friendly.‘

100-day agenda for Modi 3.0: How to combat corruption in bureaucracy

Corruption remains a problem in India.

‘Even for mundane and routine tasks like obtaining caste certificates, income certificates, residential certificates, birth and death certificates, electric connections, no objection certificates for community functions, etc., the common man often has to bribe officials to get the work done.’

Britain's Treasury chief says stimulating economic growth is the new Labour government's mission

Everyone talks about limiting bureaucracy when they come into office. It’s the bogeyman. In accounting, lowering expectations like this is called “taking a bath.” It’s lazy and it’s easy. It never seems to work. We’ll see if Labour has the moral courage to talk on the civil service. The fiscal clock is ticking.

‘Britain's new Labour government will make stimulating economic growth its mission, the Treasury chief said Monday, pledging to limit bureaucracy to make it easier to invest in the country.’