Regulations often are a necessary measure
On Sunday, July 15, the Daily Bee printed a guest opinion from Sen. Mike Crapo. The opinion expressed his belief that the massive de-regulatory actions taken by the Trump administration and the Republicans is a big success. He states the “administration has issued 67 de-regulatory actions and only three regulatory actions. If we are to believe this is a good thing one would have to think that past adminiatrators simply made up regulations for no reason whatsoever except to get in the way of business and thier profits. This is nonsense and these de-regulatory actions are dangerous and bad for the environment and human health.
Let’s take a look at a few of these de-regulations.
He supports the removal of the “methane rule.” By removing this rule frackers and fossil fuel drillers are again allowed to have uncapped methane burning continuously as it vents into our air. This grossly increases air pollution, and negatively affects global warming/climate change. Have you ever driven past and seen one of these? I have. It is senseless. This regulation should be in place.
Crapo backs the removal of the”‘waters of the United States rule.” This rule clarifies regulatory actions taken under the Clean Water Act of 1976. It seems the Republicans always want to make our water supplies dirtier. Anybody remember Flint? Or the fact that studies after the Flint water crisis showed that 117,000,000 Americans’ water supplies currently do not meet safe drinking water standards. This rule sets the framework for what sources of water are prevented from having toxic waste discarded into them. The rule was made necessary to prevent industrial waste such as fracking chemicals, oil sludge and industrial biological animal waste doesn’t get into our water supplies as it makes it way downstream. I think most of you know that the Silver Valley was a Superfund cleanup site due to careless mining practices. Cyanide, arsenic and toxic metals are in this type of waste. This causes diseases such as cancer. This is the type of problem we will have in the future as a result of the reckless de-regulation of this administration/congress.
Moving on, Crapo claimed an improved employment picture under Trump’s changes. When Obama left the White House, unemployment was at 4.6 percent; now it is at 3.8 percent. Look it up. Trump has simply gotten the glory for Obama’s achievements. Obama inherited an unemployment rate as high as 10.5 percent due to the recklessness of Bush and his cronies. Obama then guided our economy, back to a very good position, despite Republican obstruction every step of the way that would have made the recovery quicker and better.
Crapo claims that small businesses are increasing compensation at record levels. Well, every statistic anywhere else shows wages in the last several decades have not even kept up with the rate of inflation, which is quite low. Look it up. In other words real wages are going down. He needs to support a significant increase in the minimum wage.
However nothing is so glaring as his de-regulating of the financial sector as the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Crapo has initiated bringing in another financial disaster that Obama just led us out of. Remember Phil Gramm, a previous chairman of the same committee? He retired and took a high paying job with a huge Swiss bank and made a fortune on the deregulation he had just initiated before the 2000 crash. These guys get compensated really well for doing this. Look it up.
In the big picture, reckless de-regulation, huge billionaire tax cuts have done nothing to help the little guy, and have created risks of many types.
DOUG RADFORD
Sandpoint