Serving government's customers.

One of the most obscene notions perpetuated by the Reagan legacy is that greater government regulation leads to increased corruption and waste. This mantra is part of the Ron Paul libertarian Kool-Aid® that many have drunk. Just get rid of government, and tranquility and efficiency will reign.

This has become a self-fulfilling prophesy for Republican administrations. In order to service their business constituency, they just fill government regulatory agencies with incompetent or corrupt cronies who believe that government serves no useful purpose higher than their personal gain. (See my previous post.) In short order the resulting corruption and waste proves the "truth" of bad big government. The most recent example is the scandal at the FAA over pressure from the top on inspectors to ignore aircraft maintenance violations. Having gone beyond any notion that it serves the people, the FAA refers to the airlines as its "customers." (See my previous FAA post.)

One has only to look at Europe to see the fallacy of this argument. In Germany, Switzerland, and the Scandinavian countries, businesses and banking are more regulated than in the U.S. and there is relatively little corruption. Their economies are leaving ours in the dust. The Euro, Franc, and Krona are strong in part because people have justifiable confidence in their financial markets and in the products they produce. The greatest risk facing these nations is their investments in the U.S. The British, with a more deregulated banking system, are paying the consequences.

Targeted government regulation can increase consumer safety and confidence and create a stronger economy. The extent of corruption and waste is all about the leadership voters choose to implement regulation.