The Morning Briefing: Finally Some Good News—Trump Is About to Flood the Economy With Deregulation

Stephen Kruiser | 2:16 AM on May 20, 2020

*President Donald Trump gives thumbs up after speaking during a rally Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, in Charleston, W.Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)*

Can COVID Kill Government Regulations?

In a victory for long-suffering champions of less government interference, President Trump just armed the heads of federal agencies with the freedom to cut onerous regulations as a way to get the nation’s crippled economy back on track.

This president has a been a breath of fresh air when it comes to regulations, gleefully chucking away hundreds of pages of them at a time. It’s really nice to see Republicans learning how to play the “never let a crisis go to waste” game for once, but focusing the effort on something that’s actually good for the country, like a sweeping effort to wipe out business-crushing regulations.

Tyler wrote a great piece about the move yesterday and has more here:

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that gives his cabinet “tremendous power to cut regulation.” The order gives America’s flailing economy, still half-shuttered by the coronavirus crisis and government lockdowns, important relief as the effort to reopen picks up steam in different states.

Trump signed the order in a cabinet meeting. Before he signed the order, he explained that it involves “instructing federal agencies to use any and all authority to waive, suspend, and eliminate unnecessary regulations that impede economic recovery.”

This provides a stark contrast in the ways that Republicans and Democrats would prefer to “help” businesses and industries during this crisis.

The Democrats would prefer a seemingly endless series of bailouts and loans, all of which would make businesses beholden to the federal government.

By making over-regulation Public Enemy Number One, President Trump’s Republican Party wants to remove layers of federal chains that they believe would hinder a recovery that absolutely cannot take too long if people’s lives aren’t going to be permanently ruined. If the government intervenes by getting government out of the way so that people can make more money, then I’ve finally found some government interference that I like.

(Image: webandi via Pixabay)

Note that the order gives agencies the power to “waive, suspend, and eliminate unnecessary regulations,” which, against my better judgement, is giving me some hope. It is nigh on impossible to get the government to undo something once it’s done, especially at the federal level. They’re all power-mad and unwilling to cede any authority they’ve managed to grab. That’s what has been making so many of us nervous about the various suspensions of rights in the name of safety the past couple of months.

Regulations give bureaucrats a reason to exist. Endless paperwork. Compliance checkups. More work for more lawyers. Regulations create a well-paid Heaven for them that they never want to end. The mere mention of deregulation gives them night terrors.

There are a lot of us who are focused on the “eliminate unnecessary regulations” phrase and hoping beyond hope that there will be a lot of that. Of course, expecting bureaucrats to do what’s best for the country rather than themselves is a bit of a stretch. There’s also the fact that people like me will tell you that most regulations are unnecessary. Yes, I know that I may be exaggerating a bit. People on the other end of the spectrum will have you believe that people like me are anti all regulations and want everyone to die from eating bad hamburger.

There is probably a balance to be struck but the bureaucrats have been winning the hyper-regulation battle for a long time now. We’re long past overdue for a big correction.

With a stroke of his pen, President Trump has given American businesses and industries some light on the horizon in the form of freedom from burdensome regulations that could save millions who are teetering on the brink financially. It is too much to hope that we’ll ever be free of federal over-regulation, but this is very much worth celebrating.

Wherever Will We Go Broke Buying Wicker Now?

Pier 1 Imports says it is seeking bankruptcy court approval to wind down its business entirely after it was not able to find a buyer due to the coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/yi73L83hrV

— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 19, 2020

Everything Is Stupid

Company makes 'bumper tables' for restaurants amid virus https://t.co/BgdZlbQ5oo pic.twitter.com/i0Ktxbov9q

— CTV News (@CTVNews) May 19, 2020

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Smells Like Onion

Cockroaches Feeling Very Optimistic About Future Of Planet https://t.co/wePZPXTTkw pic.twitter.com/D3hFfugOLW

— The Onion (@TheOnion) May 20, 2020

The Kruiser Kabana

Edinburghhttps://t.co/Ej5dS4gM5N pic.twitter.com/jVVkkwM4CP

— Architecture Hub (@architecturehub) May 20, 2020

I’ve picked up some disturbing uses for cream cheese during quarantine.

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PJ Media Senior Columnist and Associate Editor Stephen Kruiser is the author of “Don’t Let the Hippies Shower” and “Straight Outta Feelings: Political Zen in the Age of Outrage,” both of which address serious subjects in a humorous way. Monday through Friday he edits PJ Media’s “Morning Briefing.” His columns appear every Tuesday and Friday.

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PJ Media senior columnist and associate editor Stephen Kruiser is a professional stand-up comic, writer, and recovering political activist who edits and writes PJ's Morning Briefing, aka The Greatest Political Newsletter in America. His latest book, Straight Outta Feelings, is a humorous exploration of how the 2016 election made him enjoy politics more than he ever had before. When not being a reclusive writer, Kruiser has had the honor of entertaining U.S. troops all over the world. Follow on: X, MeWe, GETTR.