CPR Member Scholar David Driesen has an op-ed in this morning's Syracuse Post-Standard discussing the Administration's punt on the smog standard, arguing it's "unfortunate that President Obama has decided to embrace the Republican narrative about regulatory burdens instead of explaining the true causes of our economic woes."
Remembering the role of financial deregulation in our economic crisis, Driesen writes:
The lesson is that we need government standards to safeguard the economy, just as we need them to safeguard the environment. But government bashers have mounted a campaign to create a different narrative — a diversion — blaming economic weakness not on deregulation and reckless financial institutions, but on government regulation.
By defending his withdrawal of the anti-smog standard as a measure to reduce economic burdens, Obama lends authority to this ongoing campaign to render government incapable of establishing adequate standards to protect the economy or the environment. Rampant speculation, diminished public health and destruction of natural resources, however, do not a strong economy make.
Check out the full op-ed here.
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Ben Somberg | September 21, 2011
CPR Member Scholar David Driesen has an op-ed in this morning’s Syracuse Post-Standard discussing the Administration’s punt on the smog standard, arguing it’s “unfortunate that President Obama has decided to embrace the Republican narrative about regulatory burdens instead of explaining the true causes of our economic woes.” Remembering the role of financial deregulation in our […]
Robert Verchick | September 21, 2011
Let’s stipulate: EPA’s withdrawal of a stronger ozone rule was the low point. And for many, a betrayal, a sedition, the nation’s biggest sell-out since Dylan went electric (or played China, take your pick). Still, Jackson’s EPA has accomplished a great deal. Last week the EPA showcased new policy devoted to one issue with which Jackson […]
Peter T. Jenkins | September 20, 2011
Guest blogger Peter T. Jenkins is a lawyer and consultant working with the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species (NECIS), committed to preventing further harm from invasive, non-native plants and animals. He is Executive Director of the Center for Invasive Species Prevention (CISP). If the federal government cannot regulate huge constrictor snakes that have already […]
Rena Steinzor | September 19, 2011
I regret to report that CPR is losing its outstanding executive director, Shana Jones. Shana’s tenure has produced a true CPR success story, when the organization stabilized on the funding front and its staff began steady growth. When Shana joined us, CPR staff was half its current size. In great measure because of her steady […]
David Driesen | September 14, 2011
Cross-posted from RegBlog. As Stuart Shapiro recently pointed out in a RegBlog post, President Obama himself made the decision a week ago to withdraw the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). Presidents have occasionally acted to resolve disputes between the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and […]
Ben Somberg | September 13, 2011
Senator Susan Collins announced last week the “Regulatory Time-Out Act” (S. 1538), which would put a one-year moratorium on most “economically significant” regulations. On Monday, she said she had 16 other Senators on board – all Republicans. So while I’m not under any illusion this is going anywhere, one point jumped out at me for […]
Daniel Farber | September 12, 2011
Cross-posted from Legal Planet. A current conservative refrain is the regulatory uncertainty is holding back the economy. Consider an editorial entitled “Obama’s regulatory flood is drowning economic growth”: Businesses large and small face more uncertainty today about the federal regulatory environment than at any point since the New Deal . . . . Seeing this […]
Rena Steinzor | September 8, 2011
From what we hear, EPA is not a happy place these days, and we don’t wonder why. Never did a hard-pressed staff deserve so much guff, less. Politico reported that the White House is treating Lisa Jackson with kid gloves, hoping against hope that she won’t up and quit on them over the outrageous White House trashing […]
Lena Pons | September 8, 2011
In May 2010, EPA sent a draft “Chemicals of Concern” list, including bisphenol A (BPA) and five other chemicals, to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. The proposed list would be the first time EPA has used its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to publish such a […]