It's time to regulate bad behavior again

Is the era of deregulation over?

Both sides of the aisle see more regulations ahead, says the New York Times.

From an article in the LA Times, here's a fascinating quote from an anti-government guy who wants to see more regulation:

Ian Bagley thinks he pays too many taxes, says welfare rolls need to be reduced and believes the private sector usually does a better job than the public sector. But after watching the housing market collapse and the stock market tank, the civil engineer from Kenosha, Wis., now believes there is not enough government regulation of the economy. A new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg national poll shows Bagley is far from alone.

So is it unanimous? What is the future of deregulation?

Well, there is still the Bush administration's push to deregulate some things before the door hits them on their way out of town.

According to the White House, they're just doing the job they were elected to do.

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Too much environmental doom and gloom

Susan Nielsen thinks enviros have won, but we didn't notice. She thinks every day is Earth Day, and it's time to back off from the Daily Dose of Doom that we enviros deliver to the world. She has a point.

"Now that every day is Earth Day, we need a new kind of holiday. We need an annual break from bad environmental news.

The year-round glumfest about drowning polar bears, dying honeybees and the general futility of it all is raising consciousness but crushing spirits (or at least mine). We need a day of rest — a time to pretend, as we did in the 1990s, that the party could last forever.

The other 364 days we can stick to the new normal, flogging ourselves about carbon and fretting about an uncertain future."

Now I can hear the chorus of objections rising...

"...but wait, the problems aren't solved yet..."
"...people don't know how bad things really are..."
"...we need to get serious and implement stronger actions..."

All of them true, but all unfortunately delivered as dire doses of doom. What drives this gloomy approach? Is it a desire to infect everyone with the sad pessimism that pervades the environmental movement? (I know about that pessimism, I'm part of the movement and I hear it every day.)

She says we've won and we don't realize it. Everyone now knows that we're right, and it's time for a new strategy to get people moving towards solutions.

I can see the merit in Nielsen's point, and I like her idea. For just one day, it would be a good idea to try to deliver all environmental news with optimism and a sense of hope.

There's nothing wrong with optimism. Try it, you just might like it.

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