From Merriam-Webster:
reg·u·late
Pronunciation:
\ˈre-gyə-ˌlāt also ˈrā-\
Function:
transitive verb
Inflected Form(s):
reg·u·lat·ed; reg·u·lat·ing
Etymology:
Middle English, from Late Latin regulatus, past participle of regulare, from Latin regula rule
Date:
15th century
1 a: to govern or direct according to rule b (1): to bring under the control of law or constituted authority (2): to make regulations for or concerning <regulate the industries of a country>
2: to bring order, method, or uniformity to <regulate one’s habits>
3: to fix or adjust the time, amount, degree, or rate of <regulate the pressure of a tire>
I show this because I think that many people fall in love (or hate) with a word while forgetting what it actually means. Republicans have fallen in love with the word “deregulate” without understanding what happens when you actually deregulate something. By regulating commerce, you take out some of the volatility of a market. Sure, you limit the number of outrageous gains that can be made in an unregulated environment, but you also get rid of the downswings that end in market crashes (and massive taxpayer bailouts). Regulation is not a bad thing, per se. Inept or incompetent regulation is bad, of course, but that’s why you should elect smart people to positions of oversight. Regulation of industries and markets are not the problem. It’s the people who are too lazy, too stupid or too greedy to engage in the oversight properly that are the problem.
It would take a fool or a madman to argue that the regulations that require infant formula to be of a certain quality are bad. Or that the regulations that removed lead from paint and gas are not needed. Those are situations that volatility is unacceptable, it can’t be good one day and bad the next, because the bad makes people die.
Taking the volatility out of the financial markets is comparable in my opinion. Lives and livelihoods depend on stability in these markets. If that means Joe Billionaire can’t get a 400 million dollar bonus, I can live with that.
Regulation is not a bad thing. Stupid regulators are a bad thing. Elect smart people and your problem is solved.