[by Lary Goldfarb]

So what is your take on government intrusion into your life?   

• It was recently reported that private industry tests the health and safety of all of the produce that gets into the food supply – for Salmonella, E. Coli, Listeria, etc.  Private industry has taken up the slack because Congress defunded the governmental effort earlier this year. How has that worked for us?

• A  federal  judge ruled against the commodity exchanges  who wanted to set position limits on the trading of certain commodities.  Private interest groups like SIFMA railed against it saying the limits would hurt the efficient market.  The plan was suposed to limit oil speculation among other commodities.

•  And at the vice presidential debate, Martha Raddatz, the moderator, asked both Catholic candidates for their opinion on abortion and the government’s role.  The Republican, Paul Ryan said that he believed that politicians must not differentiate their personal lives from their public lives.  He and his church were against abortion so he was in favor of Congress regulating it. Vice-President Biden, the Democrat,  said he too was personally against abortion but he did not feel his personal feelings should influence his public decisions.    He was leaving this up to the church and its members.

The issue of regulation is complex under any circumstances.  Is private industry equipped to regulate when the constituency they regulate pays their fees, (e.g. FINRA, Public Accounting, Food Testing, etc)?  The Dodd Frank Bill , drafted after the 2008 Financial Crisis, is constantly criticized for expanding governments role in an area that private enterprise is better equipped to tread.  But where were these private enterprise experts when the banking system was melting down.  And then there is government regulation of morality.  Pick a mainstream cultural issue that appeals to a constituency and regulate it.  I read recently where a Congressman from Georgia wants to eliminate the “big bang theory” from science textbooks and replace it with the bible’s book of Evolution. 

My general view on regulation is it should regulate a prcess where health and safety is at issue, it should be done right, it should be done efficiently.  Thus, if we are concerned about health and safety, we should leave it up to Government civil servants whose job is not impacted by political decisions.  I believe financial regulation should  be stripped from private enterprise  because profit and regulation are like oil and water.  Second, for the same reason, non penal code morality should be left up to private enterprise.  Government, by serving all of  the people is often fragmented on these issues.  Churches and for profit advocacy groups can pick and chose their members.   And wow, what would congress do with all of this spare time?