Regulatory Action Center Review - January 9, 2019

Welcome to FreedomWorks Foundation’s first regulatory review of 2019! Our Regulatory Action Center proudly updates you with our favorite tidbits from the swamp. We want to smash barriers between bureaucracy and the American people by delivering regulatory news straight to FreedomWorks activists. Check back in two weeks for the next edition.

1) Video of the Week: In this video, writer Kristin Tate lists and details six arguments against government regulations, and how they affect your day to day well-being.

2) Strand Bookstore Owner Says NYC’s Efforts to Preserve Her Building Could Doom It: “The owner of the famous Strand Bookstore in Manhattan doesn’t want the city’s help preserving her building. She doesn’t want tax breaks or government subsidies. She just wants to be left alone… Like many building owners in New York, Ms. Wyden argues that the increased restrictions and regulations required of landmarked buildings can be cumbersome and drive up renovation and maintenance costs.” https://reason.com/blog/2018/12/04/strand-bookstore-owner-says-nycs-efforts

3) One Year Later, ‘Net Neutrality’ Zealots Proved Dead Wrong: “A year later, none of the horror stories came true. In fact, average internet speeds climbed by roughly a third last year. The number of homes with access to fiber internet jumped 23% last year, according to the Fiber Broadband Association. Oh, and ‘net neutrality’ was a non-issue in the Democratic midterm campaigns. One party official said that Dems didn’t campaign on it because: ‘It’s not something that people bring up in their top list of concerns.’” https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/net-neutrality-ajit-pai-internet/

4) The Problem with ‘Expert’ Regulation: “Efficiency occurs when the value of the gains a policy creates exceed the dollar value of the losses by the greatest amount possible. But the government’s haphazard approach leads it to abandon this elemental measure of economic welfare. That’s because the act of discounting layers a scheme of basically arbitrary weights on top of a rule’s expected gains and losses. The end result is a number without clear meaning.” https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/423010-the-problem-with-expert-regulation

5) Cut Carbon Through Innovation, Not Regulation: “People across the world are rejecting the idea that carbon taxes and raising the cost of energy is the answer to lowering emissions. In France, the government just suspended a planned fuel tax increase after some of its citizens took to the streets in protest. And in the United States, the results of November elections showed that these plans and other government interventions are just as unpopular.” https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/opinion/climate-carbon-tax-innovation.html

6) Mercury Limits on Coal Plants ‘No Longer Appropriate,’ Says EPA: “In another reversal of former President Barack Obama’s environmental policies, the agency now finds that the mercury mandates cost far more than the potential benefits that spring from paring emissions of the toxin. According to the new EPA analysis, the costs of complying with the rule are projected at $7.4 billion to $9.6 billion annually, while monetized benefits are estimated to be just $4 million to $6 million each year.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-28/mercury-limits-on-coal-plants-no-longer-appropriate-epa-says

7) Why Vaping Regulations Do More Harm Than Good: “Medical research and countless personal testimonials indicate that using e-cigarettes provides an effective way to quit smoking tobacco products, which are more harmful than e-cigarettes. When access to e-cigarettes is curtailed through regulation, e-cigarette users will likely consume more tobacco products. Further, tobacco product users are denied a healthier alternative, as well as a reliable method to help them quit smoking.” https://fee.org/articles/vaping-regulations-will-do-more-harm-than-good/