Opportunity Costs
The assumption is that in a world without regulation, there would be no self-control. I'm not so sure.
This Labor Day, let’s hear it for regulation! No, really.
Arguing that most criticism of regulation tends to be based on anecdote is itself an ironic generalization.
The implication here is that businesses would not find it in their own interest to converge upon efforts designed to reduce their own pollution or to enhance the treatment of their employees, say because that is what their customers demanded.
I guess we’ll never know.
‘The case against regulation tends to be based on an anecdote about a sympathetic small business or individual that struggled with “red tape” combined with some statistics about the volume of regulations to conclude that we just have too many, while never being clear which ones they hope to do away with. It is akin to the Emperor’s critique of Mozart’s music in the movie “Amadeus,” when he declared too many notes. And just as Mozart asked which notes the Emperor had in mind to cut, so too we should query the anti-regulation advocates which specific ones they plan to do away with.’
California’s Dual Crises Are on a Collision Course
Environmentalists and YIMBYs are clashing now that there are some progressives onboard with the build housing movement. Let’s see how this plays out.
‘Powerful California Democrats, traditionally more aligned with the green movement, are instead now pushing to make housing easier to build in America’s most-populous state, including in fire-prone areas, where mitigation measures have shown success. Vice President Kamala Harris, a California political figure and the Democratic presidential nominee, recently proposed adding three million homes across the U.S.
‘Yet environmental groups are now successfully leveraging wildfire risk to stall or stop huge housing projects throughout California, from the U.S.-Mexico border to the wine country north of San Francisco.’
The Regulatory State Is In Flux Like Never Before, and Businesses Are Hating It
In financial markets, volatility often indicates a change in trend. Bull markets turn into bear markets. Investors don’t like volatility because they can get confused, leading to premature sales of good positions or poor entries into bad ones. While it doesn’t always signal a turn, volatility shakes the tree and the so-called weak hands cannot maintain their grip, leading to crystallized losses. What they want is certainty, a stock that is going up and to the right every day.
Is the current period of regulatory turmoil heralding a turn or just a shakeout? Business doesn’t know and business doesn’t like it. It’s more of a tax than people might understand. The smart ones are sitting on their hands waiting for the weather to clear.
‘“There is a tug of war happening between different branches of the government, between regulators and the courts—and even at the state level, between blue states and red states,” said Brad Caswell, head of the financial regulation group at law firm Linklaters. “Our clients are sitting there wondering what to do.”’
Europe’s Top Court Rebukes Competition Regulator, Curbing Powers
The EU slapped down the European Commission for overstepping its authority to block Illumina’s acquisition of Grail with a speculative theory. While Grail had no business in Europe, the EU’s antitrust authorities decided to attack the merger on the theory that it “might” in the “future.”
European antitrust regulators often work hand-in-glove with US regulators to expand the reach of American enforcement. In this case Illumina ended up spinning off Grail. At least, they didn’t have to pay a half-billion dollar fine.
‘Europe’s top court rebuked European Union competition regulators for overreach in a ruling that is set to curb the bloc’s powers to target smaller takeovers.
‘The European Court of Justice said Tuesday the EU’s competition authority lacked jurisdiction to review U.S. gene-sequencing company Illumina’s ILMN -1.00%decrease; red down pointing triangle takeover of cancer-test maker Grail and that the legal tool it relied on to look at the case was used improperly.’
Fight Wokeness With Small Government
The response to wokeness may be worse than the cure. Better to let common sense work its magic.
‘The tide continues to turn against wokeism in corporate America, and that’s good. But private citizens are largely responsible. They’re successfully using their voices and economic leverage in civil society. But as populist conservative elected officials begin to legislate business practices, they must be careful not to sacrifice free speech, free enterprise and limited government. These freedoms remain foundational to our culture, and we must protect them. To adapt an infamous Vietnam War quote, conservatives must be careful not to destroy freedom in an effort to save it.’
Judges Say You Can’t Build That
There is no need to ban fracking if the regulatory state makes it impossible to move forward anyway.
‘Consider an August court ruling that could stop almost all offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Federal Judge Deborah Boardman struck down a 2020 environmental assessment by the National Marine Fisheries Service that had analyzed risks to endangered species in the Gulf from oil drilling.
‘Green lobbies claimed the agency’s “biological opinion” underestimated risks from potential spills to threatened species and lacked sufficient protections for the rice whale. The judge largely agreed, and courts typically remand environmental assessments to agencies for revisions when they find shortcomings.’
ObamaCare’s Doctor and Hospital Networks Get Narrower
What good is subsidized medical care if you can’t find a provider who’ll take your weird script, forcing you to pay out of pocket if you actually need care?
‘KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that ACA plan networks in 2021 included on average only 40% of doctors in a patient’s area and even fewer in such places as Cook County, Ill. (14%), Orange County, Calif. (25%), and Los Angeles (25%). More than a quarter of physicians who participated in traditional Medicare don’t participate in any ACA plan. And many doctors don’t accept Medicare because of its low payment rates.
‘ACA plans are required to provide a set of “essential benefits.” Premiums are also heavily subsidized with tax credits based on a person’s income, which Democrats boosted in 2021. But subsidies do little good if patients can’t see a doctor. One in five ACA plan enrollees reported that a provider they needed wasn’t covered by their insurance, compared to 13% for those with employer-sponsored plans and 9% for Medicare. The result: Patients delayed care or paid more out of pocket to see physicians outside of their network.’
Florida prohibits local regulation of EV charging as it works on state rules
Regulatory conflict between local governments and the state in Florida bubbles up with respect to electric vehicle charging stations.
‘The move follows the signing of SB 1084 in May by Gov. Ron Desantis, which prohibits local authorities from regulating EV charging. Effective July 1, the law gave EV charging authority to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).
‘Rick Kimsey, FDACS director, has been meeting with entities and municipalities to discuss different rules that have been used across the state, Spectrum News 1 reported. He told the TV station that he hopes to have the rules in place by the end of the year.’
Revealing the Submerged Administrative State
The authors of this paper are cheerleaders for government who lament that government would be fantastically more popular if the public truly understood what the administrative state does and the extent of its reach.
Agree to disagree.
‘Although the administrative state’s role in implementing laws and government programs is well known to policy insiders, we argue that the critical work that federal agencies do is submerged—to borrow a term coined by political scientist Suzanne Mettler. That is to say, it is hidden from public view, making it difficult for Americans to perceive it or to understand its day-to-day effects on their lives. Despite agencies’ responsibility for the vast bulk of government work (including implementing statutes such as the IRA and the ACA), it is extremely difficult for even the most informed Americans to appreciate the extent to which agency actions affect their lives. As a result, Americans tend to underestimate the extent to which they benefit from government programs either because they do not recognize that they are receiving these benefits or because they are not aware that the benefits are being provided by the government. It is partly because of this submergence that the political response to several key U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions constraining the administrative state has been so muted, despite the danger that these decisions will ultimately render government less effective.’
“Politico”: Draghi’s report calls for removing bureaucratic constraints for defense companies
It sounds as if Draghi thinks that bureaucracy is a luxury Europe can no longer afford given the changing geopolitical landscape.
‘European defense companies need not fear bureaucratic constraints as they ramp up arms production, according to a draft of the EU competitiveness report prepared by former Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, and viewed by the portal “Politico.eu”.’
Bureaucrats need to stop gatekeeping new teachers
Germany’s dodged weed legalization
You can grow weed at home or in “cannabis clubs” and you can carry it but the consumers are apparently too stoned to go through the process of acquiring a license, so the illegal market thrives.
Who could have seen this coming?
‘Germany's much-heralded legalization of cannabis appears to be falling short on one of its biggest promises — stamping out the black market.
‘When it was introduced earlier this year, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach claimed the law would "put dealers out of work" and combat gangs selling more dangerous and often laced pot.
‘But due to bureaucracy, political reluctance and the EU, there's one big winner currently benefiting from the relaxed rules: your local dealer.’