It's Pronounced "Nucular"
We can undo stupid policies one by one.
With debt in the trillions, huge numbers like $11 billion seem meaningless to some people, I’m sure. (I’m looking at you, New York Times, even as you criticize the profligacy of the Big Beautiful Bill.)
The deregulation is going to be far more important than the cost-cutting. It will boost growth and drive up tax receipts.
Deregulation leads to higher tax revenue, tariffs qua consumption tax are disinflationary, and lower income tax rates can boost tax revenue, too.
These are counter-intuitive, but true.
‘The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the first step in the Energy Department’s largest deregulatory effort in history, proposing the elimination or reduction of 47 regulations that are driving up costs and lowering quality of life for the American people. Once finalized, these actions will save the American people an estimated $11 billion and cut more than 125,000 words from the Code of Federal Regulations. These actions, in accordance with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, “Zero-Based Regulation to Unleash American Energy,” advance President Trump’s promise to restore consumer freedom, lower costs, and unleash American energy dominance.‘
Lawsuits Are Piling Up as Trump Upends U.S. Energy Regulation
The litigation is working its way through on the first wave of energy deregulation.
There will be more waves. This is just the beginning.
‘United States President Donald Trump has spent just over 100 days in office, and, in that time, he has attracted a wide range of lawsuits in response to his energy and climate policies. Several states and organisations have recently launched legal action against the Trump administration for energy deregulation, restricting renewable energy development, cutting environmental funding, and other policy moves.’
FIGHTING OVERCRIMINALIZATION IN FEDERAL REGULATIONS
Show me the person and I’ll show you the crime.
No, literally. There are so many crimes in the federal regulations that it’s likely you’re committing one right now, without even being aware.
And a guilty mind isn’t even required!
Common sense comes to criminal enforcement.
‘The United States is drastically overregulated. The Code of Federal Regulations contains over 48,000 sections, stretching over 175,000 pages — far more than any citizen can possibly read, let alone fully understand. Worse, many carry potential criminal penalties for violations. The situation has become so dire that no one -– likely including those charged with enforcing our criminal laws at the Department of Justice — knows how many separate criminal offenses are contained in the Code of Federal Regulations, with at least one source estimating hundreds of thousands of such crimes. Many of these regulatory crimes are “strict liability” offenses, meaning that citizens need not have a guilty mental state to be convicted of a crime.
‘This status quo is absurd and unjust. It allows the executive branch to write the law, in addition to executing it. That situation can lend itself to abuse and weaponization by providing Government officials tools to target unwitting individuals. It privileges large corporations, which can afford to hire expensive legal teams to navigate complex regulatory schemes and fence out new market entrants, over average Americans.’
When you’re in a hole, the first thing to do is to stop digging.
Germany reverses Merkel’s disastrous Energiegewende (German for “you can’t be serious”, apparently) and undoes knee-jerk opposition to nuclear.
Now, maybe, the climate-sensitive Germans can cut down on their messy coal emissions.
For the children, man.
‘It’s been an enormous week for nuclear. On Monday, in a landmark policy U-turn, the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz finally dropped his country’s longstanding opposition to nuclear energy at the European level. In a joint op-ed with French President Emmanuel Macron, Merz aligned his position with France’s, ending years of fierce and constant opposition that had refused funding to nuclear investments across the EU and treated nuclear power, in some ways, as worse than coal.’
GM Is Pushing Hard to Tank California’s EV Mandate
GM knows how crazy the EV “mandate” out of California is for the US car industry.
‘GM, one of the biggest sellers of EVs in the U.S., is encouraging employees to use scripted talking points to lobby senators. The goal is to nullify a 2022 California measure that would ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and trucks by 2035, a mandate that has since been adopted by 11 other states. The Senate could vote as early as next week to revoke a waiver that allows California to set its own stricter tailpipe-emissions standards.’
Liberation Day for Gas-Powered Cars
The common sense revolution takes another step forward as Congress heeds the call to end the madness.
‘The Senate voted 51-44 on Thursday to free Americans from California’s onerous electric-vehicle mandate. This is a real Liberation Day, and the voters who re-elected President Trump won’t fail to notice when he signs the resolution. Feel free to rev your engines in approval. If Gov. Gavin Newsom hears it loud enough, maybe he won’t sue.
‘The Senate’s move follows similar action in the House, which this month voted 246-164 for a resolution to rescind a federal waiver that gave a green light to California’s EV mandate. The 1996 Congressional Review Act (CRA) lets lawmakers overturn recent regulations. The President also must sign off, so it typically happens only after a change in power.
‘Under California’s EV regime, 35% of auto maker sales next year are required to be “zero-emission vehicles,” rising to 68% in 2030 and 100% by 2035. The Clean Air Act lets California set its own vehicle emissions standards, which was meant to address its historically smoggier air. CO2 emissions from gas cars don’t contribute to pollution, but the Environmental Protection Agency under President Biden granted a waiver to bless the policy.’