Bush Rushing To Push Through More Deregulation

As Bush prepares to leave office I am reminded of a failed general, as he withdraws from the battle field deciding to burn and destroy everything he can. Our failed president is trying to push through measures that would further deregulate consumer protections and financial industries.

According to a story in the Washington Post:

As many as 90 new regulations are in the works, and at least nine of them are considered "economically significant" because they impose costs or promote societal benefits that exceed $100 million annually. They include new rules governing employees who take family- and medical-related leaves, new standards for preventing or containing oil spills, and a simplified process for settling real estate transactions.

The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some would ease or lift constraints on private industry, including power plants, mines and farms.

Those and other regulations would help clear obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities, ease controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining.