Congressional Democrats Should Take a Hint From Obama
This week’s op-ed in the Wall Street Journal by President Obama stressed the importance of creating a pro-growth, pro-business regulatory environment which will help put Americans back to work. For many people who don’t live in Washington, the regulations passed by agencies like the FDA, the EPA and others seem less important than the big and well-publicized fights in Congress. But in reality, they are often much more impactful on business and hiring than, say, fights over tax cuts or Wall Street reform.
In his op-ed, the president talked about the case of saccharin, the sugar substitute, which the FDA deemed to be safe, but the EPA regulated as hazardous waste. This costs the companies that make the faux sugar millions of dollars every year to properly dispose and handle a product that is obviously not dangerous. To the average American, this regulatory change means nothing. But if you work at a company that produces saccharin, maybe now you can get a pay raise or hire a new employee from the pool of the unemployed in this country. In other words, this small and little known regulatory fix can help get America back to work and improve peoples’ lives.
Huffington Post
Ronnie Shows
1/21/10
Magnolia Tribune
