When politicians, specifically conservatives and libertarians, talk about what the country needs is “smaller, limited or less government,” what they mean is to reduce regulations against businesses, but not in a good way. They make it seem as though businesses, large and small, are targeted by the government and held back from the freedom to use the free market to make money or expand. This is not true.
Government regulations are put in place to control what businesses can and cannot do where it pertains to the protection, well-being and safety of the public. But somehow politicians have convinced the very people the government tries to protect; to believe they need smaller government. This is insane and why many people vote against their own interest. It was extreme deregulation that caused the great Depression in 1929.
The government is not intruding on the freedoms of business, they are making sure the public is protected against fraud, waste, and exploitation of workers. Again, politicians use trickery to convince the public that the government is taking away freedoms, and they never explain otherwise but spread misinformation and propaganda by demonizing the government.
According to the laws that protect the people, the following explains what regulations are for. “The U.S. government regulations on businesses intend to protect employees’ rights, and ensure environmental preservation, along with mandating companies to be accountable for their power and influence in their corporate society.”
Contrary to why government regulations are put into place, major corporations want to do away with regulations or reduce them to nothing, which is why they want to do away with many government agencies altogether or restructure it in their favor. Some of the regulations they fight against include: tax and labor laws, environmental and privacy laws, and other needed protections for the people like extreme debt and the constant threat of bankruptcy and poverty.
First, they do not want to pay taxes at all, which is why they want a conservative president so they can give bigger tax breaks to companies. The corporate tax rate went from as high as 52% in the 60s down to 21% today. But this is not good enough for them. The lower the tax rate, the higher the profits they can make. But “the current U.S. corporate tax rate does not appear to be impeding corporate profits.”
“Tax evasion or not paying taxes on purpose will account for hefty penalties and potential jail term for the perpetrator business owner.” The greed of wealthy corporations and their owners only leads to tax fraud under white collar crime yet some businesses are not held accountable by the government as they should.
Business should pay taxes because they operate in the same country as the workers they employee, use the land and resources of this country, and should want to invest in and contribute to its advancement. Instead, many of them have outsourced work to other countries to avoid US taxes and avoid paying workers what they are actually worth. They believe American workers are asking too much in pay.
As a result of their refusal to pay American workers what they are worth, corporations look to reduce other government regulations that guarantee workers’ rights against exploitation. “The Department Of Labor Laws regulate wages and hours, workplace safety and health, and worker’s compensation, along with employee benefit security and employee protection, etc.”
If it were up to corporations, they would pay less, force workers to work longer hours, and not protect them against unsafe working conditions. They have resorted to reintroducing child labor into the workforce again so they can pay smaller wages.
They also want to do away with antitrust laws, which, “under antitrust laws, some of these business behaviors are not allowed:
• Conspiring to fix prices.
• Deceptive business strategies.
• Establishing dominance or monopoly in the marketplace by killing competition.
Many antitrust laws are being or have been already broken and have led to price gouging, which has become a standard practice for corporations during natural disasters. Many major banks have been sued and fined because they have taken advantage of consumers in opening fraudulent bank accounts and credit cards for the customer without their knowledge, and charging them fees accordingly.
Big-box stores such as Walmart, Costco, many chain restaurants, retail, and department stores, have run the small mom and pop stores out of business. They fight against laws that protect smaller businesses and lobby politicians to do the same or to change and fix laws that favor monopolies.
Advertising is another area big businesses have been sued and fined over because they mislead the public of their products and ask politicians to relax laws against false and misleading advertising. People’s health is put at risk through false advertising of food ingredients and over-the-counter drugs. Other deceptive advertising practices include fake “Made in America” labels, brand knock offs, unregulated online marketing, telemarketing, and spam related emails. These are all areas major corporations are fighting to be able to do, without regard to public health, protection and privacy.
“According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a business must follow environmental standards, depending on the industry in which it operates.” Clean water and safe foods are regulated by the EPA. Most large businesses are asking government to relax regulations on what they can sell the public. Dangerous chemical-based foods and dirty water are some areas businesses want to privatize so they can outsource these to low-bidding private businesses that care only about profit and not public health.
“The relevancy of this law is very important for your business if it markets anything claimed as natural, organic, or eco-friendly.”
“Privacy Laws are another area the federal business regulations require companies to protect the privacy of their customers and save and secure their crucial data.” More often, people’s private information is hacked and leaked to the public because businesses want relaxed laws on how they handle private data. They have been sued and fined for selling data to third party companies who use that information to exploit people’s shopping and banking habits.
“For example, The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) mandates companies to ask permission from the parents before collecting personal information about their children.” If it were up to conservative politicians, there would be no protection even for children. Again, they would rather third-party business handle this area of business, all for the sake of profit and making money.
There are other major reasons businesses want to take over the government agencies that protect the public. They want the power to exploit the people and make as much money as possible, which is why the country is in the shape it is today. People are struggling financially and prices are unaffordable because businesses have bribed politicians to make laws that protect them instead of the consumer.
Why anyone would vote against being protected from corporate exploitation is not logical. Yet too many uniformed, low information people will choose this option as opposed to the other political choice. Yet they complain about the cost of things, high taxes, and whine about having their freedoms taken away by the government when it is actually corporations who are limiting their freedoms.
DISCLAIMER: The content of Pro Liberation is firmly opinionated and is not meant to be interpreted as official news. We glean facts and quotes from mainstream news websites and abridge its meaning for readers to relate. We do not indulge in misinformation, conspiracy theories, or false doctrine but choose to express our right to free speech as citizens of this country and free born under God the Creator. We represent Nu Life Alliance Inc. a non-profit organization in the battle for social and economic justice. Donate to our cause at the following link. DONATE
