Year 2, Month 9, Day 13: The Hunting Of The Snark

The Wednesday 7 San Francisco Chronicle discusses the Republican antipathy for environmental regulations:

The Republican prescription for job growth, shared by tonight’s presidential debaters and Republicans in Congress, is to dismantle regulations proposed by the Obama administration, especially the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming these are a key culprit in widespread unemployment.

The antiregulation campaign joins deficit reduction as the foundation of the Republican economic program.

The campaign is heavily backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and small business groups that contend regulations are destroying jobs. It follows more than a year of intense verbal attacks launched by Republicans in the House against everything from the Endangered Species Act to new rules on light bulbs.

I enjoyed writing this letter. Sent Sept. 9 (2nd one today, putting me currently 4 days ahead of the game):

Our Republican friends have it exactly right: those pesky EPA regulations are definitely a drag on the economy. It’s just mindboggling to think of all they jobs they kill.

Preventing irresponsible corporations from releasing carcinogens into the environment in the first place is certain to trigger massive private sector unemployment. For example, pulmonary care doctors and respiratory specialists will have fewer opportunities if air pollution is more heavily regulated — and waste abatement experts would be out of work if there were sufficiently robust penalties for illegally dumping toxic chemicals. And think of how many jobs will be lost in the insurance industry alone!

It seems clear enough to me. If those regulations are lifted, America’s employment crisis will end almost immediately. After all, there’s nothing that spells “jobs” like cancer, asthma, and ecological devastation.

Warren Senders