THE ECONOMIC PAMPHLETEER: Government regulation: Too much or too little

Abstract

First paragraphs: On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a 40-year-old Court decision that had made it easier for the federal government to enforce regulations that protect the environment, public health, workers, and consumers from eco­nomic exploitation. The six-to-three majority ruling was widely considered a victory for corporate and conservative political interests that have worked for decades to weaken government regulations. The case has been called “the conservative-dominated court’s clearest and boldest repudiation yet of what critics of regulation call the administra­tive state” (Sherman, 2024a, para. 3). The same justices, by the same majority, stripped the Securi­ties and Exchange Commission of its primary means of fighting fraud by requiring jury trials for accused violators of SEC rules (Sherman, 2024b). In other words, the current Supreme Court has demonstrated a commitment to weakening the government’s ability to write and enforce rules and regulations. . . .

Keywords

• food systems
• government regulation
• small-scale producers
• industrial producers
• risk