When will the next oil rig explode?

Why doesn’t the Congress pass laws that effectively regulate the food/energy/banking industry?

The last two years provided ample proof that de-regulation does not work. The American people were not protected from fraud in the banking industry; if fact the congress/fed gave investment bankers the tools that allowed them to bankrupt investors while earning billions. The oil industry was granted drilling rights and regulatory agencies did not have the power to enforce adherence to safety regulations that were in place. In the last week, we’ve seen that the egg/chicken industry has also been allowed to ignore basic safety procedures. The agriculture department and the FDA did not have the power to shut any faciility down or force recalls of contaminated food .... it could only “recommend” . Big oil companies were allowed to drill without proving that they had adequate emergency plans in case of disastrous leaks. Drilling rigs were allowed to continue operations despite safety violations.

Why? The simple answer is that Congress seems to believe that private industry can be trusted to regulate themselves.

Polls indicate a majority of Americans think that private industry is “over” regulated. Concurrently, most Americans believe that current regulations adequately protect them. They don't. Most Americans were shocked to find out that the MMA trusted the major oil companies to have an effective plan to deal with any oil spill! Most Americans are shocked when they find out that major oil and gas companies are exempted from following many environmental regulations, or are simply not required to conduct environmental impact studies. When they are faced with these facts, most Americans support increased enforcement of safety regulations.

Yet, once the crisis has passed, most Americans resist the same regulations on big business that could prevent a future crisis because they are told it would cost too much.... increase unemployment.... lower profits. etc. etc. Congress neglects to protect us from future disasters, either through self interest (campaign contributions) or lack of interest.

What is the true cost of continuing this trend towards de-regulation? People are right to be concerned about the ballooning deficit and its’ effect on future generations; they should be equally concerned that our grandchildren will not have clean water to swim in, or safe fish to eat or safe bridges, levees, airplanes and buildings unless we invest in science and education and new infrastructure as well as enforcing compliance to basic safety standards, despite the immediate cost.

Note; check out this opinion piece from the Washington Post on this subject.

Source: http://liberal-soccer-mom.blogspot.com/2010/08/when-will-next-oil-rig-explode.html