Saturday, November 05, 2011

Deregulation and its faux promise of job creation. Regulation drives innovation.

Quite some time ago there was a dairy farm in Pennington, New Jersey that gave up the mission of producing milk and decided instead to simply produce quality dairy cows for sale.

Why did this farm stop producing milk for consumption?  Because the federal govenrment wanted 'risk free' milk in their populous that protected children and delivered necessary vitamins into the diet.  So the farm either had to comply with new regulations for stainless steel milking equipment from 'utter' to 'tanker truck' leaving the process free of human hand contact or get out of the buesiness.

Is there anyone in the USA that wants to return to deregulation endangering the entire country and their health?Risking disease and providing venues of contamination into the diets of Americans?  Of course not.  We are witnessing a lysteria virus that have killled innocent people.  No one wants to die for the job they have or wants others to die for it either.  The Pennington farm survived in a differnt way, contributed to the dairy community in the northeast USA and the FAMILY farm prospered with grain crops and through other venues of 'agri-business.'  The owners of the farm and livestock became millionaires nearly overnight for the cows they sold and subsequently raised and the soybean, corn and wheat they grew and harvested instead of feeding cows.  In actuality, the community, the people involved in the farming operations opened up new opportunities for employment of others than ever before. 

The farmer was quite a billiant man and went to work for an experiemental concept developed to spread 'liquid fertilizer' freeing up time other dairymen needed to tend to their pursuits. The agri-business blossomed and put many people to work.  Many.  There were liquid fertilizer trucks all over southern New Jersey and opportunity abounded.

The farmer's son, then eleven years old at the time, had an award winning Holstein Calf and Cow every year at the 4-H fair.  Their roots were intact.

If regulation of the nation's milk supply hadn't come along there would have been less employment opportunity for those outside the family farm circle, the opportunity to diversify and growth of a new ag-business would not have happened for many years or a decade later and the family farm would not see millions of income to their lives which were changed forever.  The farmer worked with the farming community not just in spreading liquid fertilizer, but, in advice regarding excellent farming practices and until today those agricultural lands in New Jersey are highly productive.  Except if they are flooded due to the Climate Crisis.

This is true story. 

Regulations never intend to destroy jobs, their intent is to bring safety and well being to the American people.  Can anyone honestly say that the BP Gulf Oil Disaster would have happened if the industry was properly regulated, the USA had a Minerals Management Commission that worked rather than partied and the industry was INSPECTED enough to provide a LARGE margin of safety to any mishap?  No one in the USA can make the claim BP would have never happened IF all the regulations and regulators were working.  Quite the contrary. We would not see shrimp beds collapsing through ecosystem degradation and disaster off the coast of Louisiana.

Regulaitons in a society of over 300 milion people are necessary.  When the country was the thirteen colonies and the forests were 'old growth forests' everywhere, the impact of disease and health risks were never a concern.  The human footprint was never noticed.  That is completely opposite today.  As the country grows and seeks ways of life, quality of life and employment or OPPORTUNITY that will sustain; the need for protective and pertinent regulation is always necessary.  It is the place of the government to fact find, protect the citizen and legislate in ways that matter to sustain LIFE, but, also quality of life. 

Regulations can be draconian, but, not when it means there is no mercury in the air we breath, the water we drink, bath or wash clothes, reasonable leverls of all the NOX and SOX, lower levels of surface ozone that literally burn the 'epithelium' of lungs and compromise gas exchange at the alveoli, insists on CO2 levels that provide a safe and sane troposphere which fosters lives rather than endangers it, clean water, not just CLEAR water, but, water without danger to human body chemistry.

Regulations brings 'state of the art' demands to the public and private sector.  If the USA Military was nearly the first INDUSTRY to power itself with biofuels, what then is the problem?  If the USA military runs on regulation and innovation while providing prosperity to Americans within its industrial complex, there can't be much wrong.  Not that there aren't issues, but, as a rule USA military bases protect some of the most endangered and threatened species of the USA. 

Rolling back regulations destroys the moral content of the USA, stops innovation rather than demanding it. compromises The Clean Air Act and The Clean Water Act and sets the USA back decades in international relationships and trade.  What prevents the WHO, the UN, the G7, 8 or 20 from demanding control of CO2 levels within their trade and international agreements.  What makes anyone believe being BEHIND the innovation and compliance curve is a good place for the world's largest economy? Doing so is simply double standards and greed.  Those 'characters' of the USA economy and government breeds far less good will than holding a national 'esteem' which includes the dignity of fighting for a common cause such as stopping droughts in Africa and Texas.

There are always complaints from citizens when new regulations are written or there is tighter ENFORCEMENT of existing regulations, but, that doesn't mean it isn't good for the country, its poeple, its international standing and its regard for human life and the asthetics of quality of life. 

This is a perfect time to 'exact' the regulations and compliance and enforcement needed.  Returning manufacturing to the USA has to be about viability, employment, expanding tax bases and qualify of life with asthetics intact.  The people of the USA know they can do this, they don't have to settle while realizing dereguation is about wealth and not well being.

There are reasons, sound reasons for the standards of regulation in the USA.  They are not fabricated for wealth interruption by government.  The government is in place for a reason and it isn't just to invade countries illegally to control their carbon resources.  Deregulation is not the answer, it is however, the problem.