Radio Derb Is On The Air: Elizabeth Warren Threatens Boring Assault On Regulation, Etc.

By John Derbyshire

04/18/2015

Radio Derb is on the air. To get the podcast, follow the instructions at Taki’s Magazine. The transcript will be archived on my own website Tuesday morning.

In this week’s podcast I comment on Senator Elizabeth Warren. She’s been on the campaign trail calling for more regulation of the financial industry.

It’s all good eat-the-rich old-time religion for the Democrats, I guess; but in my opinion Senator Warren is making a presentational mistake in offering it under the heading of regulatory reform. The words “regulation,” “regulatory,” and “regulators” are chloroform to the average voter. You can see their eyes glaze over when a politician talks regulatory issues. I bet half of you fell asleep right there when I mentioned the topic, didn’t you? WAKE UP! [Klaxon.]

My good friend Bob Weissberg, who used to teach Political Science at universities for a living, tells me that when he stepped up to the lectern and told his students, “Today we’re going to discuss regulation …,” his words cleared the room faster than a bomb scare.

Which, as Bob says, is a great shame, as half the national problems Americans grumble about have their roots in some regulatory issue. Unfortunately Amazon.com lists no book titled Regulation for Dummies, so politicians have no help here in enlightening the public (assuming they really want to do that). My advice to them would be to just avoid the “R” words altogether.

The full Radio Derb playbill: It’s all there at Taki’s Magazine.

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