With Trump in power, there is a new attack on a lot of regulations. Sure, sometimes regulations can get silly and that’s where politicians can always finetune them as things change. But overall, there is a good reason for many of our regulations. Democrats have done such a lousy job explaining with easy to understand examples to counter Republican talking points about regulations which cover business structures, environmental , and safety issues. JRepublicans are good at taking a few examples to bolster their talking points and repeat them incessantly. It’s time Democrats do that too. Will Trump be in favor of removing government restrictions on housing codes near his rich properties and let any kind of business operate in the name of encouraging more business to happen? Why restrict businesses from buying properties and do what they want with them? Isn’t Trump being anti freedom? And Anti business?
Don’t Republicans favor regulations when it comes to residential/commercial zoning, housing codes as much as anyone else? Hell, I live in a republican city Sandy Springs, GA which is next to another one in Dunwoody, GA (suburbs of Atlanta). And both cities go overboard in legislating not only neighborhood codes(even if you do not live in a subdivision) , but also put limits on storefront signs, The local Republicans have spent money fighting large billboards, and restricting the type of businesses that can set up shop based on their moral standards costing the city tax money. One day, when a couple of my right wing colleagues were bitching about government regulations, I asked them if they were in favor of such codes locally. They said that’s different. So I asked them why are Republicans so anti business? Why are they so anti freedom and interfere with whatever I want to do with my personal property? And if they feel like their restrictions make sense for the greater good, why bash Democrats for other environmental and safety restrictions which may be slight overreach occasionally, but for the most part make sense in saving us on healthcare costs, nearby property values, and better accounting of a business true costs to make goods.
I don’t have the resources to compile a nice list of examples. But let’s take mining. What is so capitalistic when the mines do not account for the full cost of their business practices? The evinromental damage that incurs. The cost to the health of their workers. Who accounts for that? That is not socialism to demand more from companies like the mining companies. What is wrong with a regulation that makes sure the true cost of making goods is accounted for if we are going to let entities profit as much as possible. ‘
So if you were a democratic party consultant, what kind of tight messaging would you come up with to drive home the point that not all regulations are bad and that it is mere pandering to get rid of some of them? We need to have Democrats who go on these CNN and other networks to have on hand some easy counterexamples to push back against the reckless scaling back of regulations that will take place under a Trump administration.