1929, 1986, 2008 all crashes caused by lack of regulation; stocks, loans, and bonds respectively. There is a myth that the American economy would be great and jobs would return if the government would just stay out of it. This free economy idea has never been true in the United States and would be a disaster if it ever occurred.
There are all kinds of regulations to control commerce, morals, even speech. There are many ways governments throughout history have accomplished this. Building and safety codes: After the The Triangle Shirtwaiste Fire in New York, 1911 a Factory Investigating Commission to “investigate factory conditions in this and other cities and to report remedial measures of legislation to prevent hazard or loss of life among employees through fire, unsanitary conditions, and occupational diseases.” was established. The so called “sin taxes” on smoking and alcohol are examples of morals regulation. Libel laws are examples of speech regulation.
A classic example of the myth of the free economy is the break up of Ma Bell in 1982 . The claim was that the government deregulated the phone industry but what they did was force Ma Bell to allow other companies to use the physical infrastructure created and maintained by Ma Bell. This is not de-regulation but a change of beneficiary. The actual effect of this change in beneficiary was the increase of local phone costs, contrary to how it was sold to the public, and the lowering of long distance costs which were used previously to supplement the local costs by Ma Bell.
As I write this Donald Trump is using a different government method to manipulate the economy. He has just agreed (I am not sure on what authority) with the owners of Carrier Heating to give tax breaks to the company as incentive to keep 1000, of 2100, jobs in the United States rather than move the jobs to Mexico. This is not a free market but one manipulated by corporate owners and governments.
Three different examples: Back around the 1930s the Washington State Olympic peninsula was logged. There were no rules and the idea at the time was the trees were an unlimited resource. The areas were clear-cut—and still are. They are a mess of dead grey stumps and rubbish that is too expensive to try to clear for replanting so it sits and has for nearing one hundred years. After this, but not because of it regulations came in for logger safety and logging methods. One result was the ownership of the land by the logging companies which is a built-in incentive to replant. Now there are requirements to replant as well. The industry still exists though a shadow of its former self. This shadow because, in part, of the previous bad practices that were later controlled by regulation.
Strip mining for coal is another example of regulation but not in the positive result the regulation of logging turned out. As coal was replaced with oil, regulating the industry was politically easier. There was also the environmental movement and other interest groups to preserve the land and prevent poisoning water supplies. As industries weaken, governments are prone to appear to look like they are doing positive things—even when the damage has already been done.
Which leads to the oils sands of Alberta. As the oil industry and our society desperately hang on to a dying industry for lack of easy supply we are willing, like in the days of coal, to rape the environment and poison the water supplies to keep the myth going. The government of Alberta is desperate to keep the sands going because their entire provincial coffers are filled with the proceeds. Even though, at the time of this article, the cost of producing a barrel of oils sands oil is twice the world market price of that barrel. We as people wish to keep paying low prices for gasoline. This industry, for now, will be difficult to regulate. Other forms of energy will not find regulation and tax breaks for their benefit as long as the myth of big oil remains strong. The tax breaks given to oil companies are huge while the industry itself makes large profits. There is no free economy when it comes to the oil industry there is only more myth and destruction using our tax dollars directly and indirectly through political donations manipulating favorable regulation. And now, of course, the next President owning stocks in the oil companies benefiting from the regulations and tax breaks.
Businesses can no longer lock all the exit doors so the workers cannot get out like in the Triangle Shirtwaiste fire mentioned above. Companies cannot force children to work fourteen hours a day in dark coal mines anymore. On the other hand, it takes eighteen months or more to get a building permit in Vancouver, where there is a housing shortage, because of the regulations–this is a problem. No one should be allowed to build a building without proper plumbing, electrical, and fire safety components of course. But when doing remodeling or repairs is it really necessary to have every piece of drywall and paint tested for asbestos before any work can be done, even in a building built after 1980 when asbestos was banned from building materials? This regulation is just an added, ass covering, expense.
The question is not, and never has been, have or have not when speaking of regulations. We, in America, are speaking of levels of regulation. Language without compromise is self-defeating. The United States government itself is designed to force compromise. Without it the country fails and the corporations can line their own pockets without caring about the long term environmental, personal, or financial effect on the society or its people. One generation wants lower regulations on an industry and the next will want more. The goal is the balance over time.
Hark 