What Republicans like to denigrate as “business-destroying regulations,” are really nothing more — or less — than Public Protection Policies written into the law. Who benefits when Public Protection Policies are removed from our laws? Big Corporations and Wealthy CEOs. Who benefits when sound Public Protection Policies exist in our laws? You. Your family. Your neighbors. Your community. Your country.
Public Protection laws fall into a category of laws known as “Harm Principle” laws. Other “Harm Principle” laws are those that govern violent crime and property crime. Harm Principle laws punish people who break into your house and steal your belongings (or would try to); they punish people who cause physical, bodily harm to innocent people. They also act as deterrents to those who might consider committing those acts, but for the potential penalty or punishment they’d receive if caught. Harm Principle laws are an obvious necessity in a functioning society. Without them, we’d descend into chaos.
Do you want your elected representatives to protect Big Corporations and wealthy CEOs by eliminating Public Protection Policies in our laws — to the sole benefit of the corporations? Or do you want your elected representatives looking out for you and your family?
If a neighbor was using the land adjacent to your back yard as his personal outhouse and garbage dump; contaminating your land and ground water with his foul-smelling, health-hazard-causing excrement, would you let him continue to do so unfettered, or would you call someone in your city government to make him clean up his disgusting mess? If it’s not okay for an individual to take a dump in your back yard, should it be okay for a Big Corporation to dump their contaminated excrement in your back yard?
That’s what Republican representatives and candidates for office are asking you to allow them to get away with, when they say, in effect, “Elect me because I will remove the Public Protection Policies that prevent businesses from destroying your neighborhood. Those Public Protection Policies are bad for business because businesses don’t like doing all that paperwork and it's more expensive for them not to poison you!”
If you told a visiting friend they could use your bathroom, but later discovered that they'd picked up your credit card that was on your dresser and went on a shopping spree that you didn’t give them permission to do, would you be angry and make them pay you back? And if they refused, wouldn’t you be glad for the existence of the Small Claims Court and the Public Protection Policies that someone’s elected representatives saw fit to establish at some time in history, so that you could sue for damages?
Well what if you told a company they could sign you up for a “free gas” offer, but instead of delivering free gas, they took your credit card number and charged nearly $100.00 for a subscription to an online magazine without your permission? Wouldn’t you appreciate the fact that your elected representatives put a Public Protection Policy into the law that not only forbids this practice, but affords you legal recourse to recoup your stolen money?
Republicans don’t want you to have that protection. They want to protect the companies who don’t want to be bothered to have to do the right thing.
Your choice is simple: Republicans want to deny you the benefits of Public Protection Policies and give corporations and wealthy CEOs free reign to run amok if it’ll save them a dime; Democrats want to keep Public Protection Policies in place because without them, real harm could come to you, your family, your neighbors, your community and your country.
Republicans: Profits over People. Democrats: People over Profits.