To the editor:

Last Tuesday I was listening to the radio and heard House Republican Leader Patricia Morgan say that what we need to do is cut regulation and boost small business. I am trying to build my own small business (in addition to holding a full-time job) and I appreciate every boost I can get. However...

Can anyone direct me to the list of specific regulations the Republicans propose to cut, or the other ways in which they propose to boost small business? 

So often I hear about how all we need to do is get government out of the way of business and then our worries will be over. I don't buy it. Why do we have regulations, anyway? They take a lot of time and effort to put in place, or at least they do when they're drafted by legislators and not just copied from ALEC or other lobbyist groups.

We have regulations because of hard experience. Some regulations are essential. Sadly, business unrestrained tends to run amok. I read that even early Egyptian, Indian, Greek, and Roman civilizations regulated business. Without regulations corporations can (and have been known to) cheat on quantities, dump chemical wastes into our common waters, lie about ingredients, claim that tobacco doesn't cause cancer, achieve monopolies and fix prices, or treat workers in ways that we all agree are unfair.

Not every regulation is created equal. Of course, some regulations outlive their usefulness and others have unintended consequences and were mistakes in the first place. We definitely need to get rid of those and try to have only the regulations that produce the business behavior we want to see.

Once again, the devil is in the details. Yet, Rep. Morgan didn't mention even one example of an onerous regulation she would remove. I truly hope someone will be able to share with me the list of regulations the Republicans propose to remove. Without the details, her speech sounds suspiciously like mere political posturing and hogwash.

Sincerely,

Tim Mize

Barrington