briansd1 wrote:This is an

[Allan from Fallbrook]

[quote=briansd1]This is an interesting story about a plant in NY that’s polluting the air and made the owner rich.

State and Federal regulators raided the plant, but it’s still operating and polluting.

Would you want such a plant in your neighborhood and then leave it to the plant owner to self-regulate?

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/10/142189390/tonawanda-provides-lessons-for-fighting-toxic-air%5B/quote%5D

Brian: You also (unintentionally) made another point as well: The gubment, for all its good intent, can also fall far short when it comes to proper regulation and oversight. And I’m not talking about the Crash of 2008, either, although that’s one of the more egregious examples.

Look at the various energy sectors and you’re likely to find some all-too-cozy relationships between the various regulatory agencies and the very people that they’re supposed to oversee. Massey Energy (coal mining) springs immediately to mind, as did the fiasco that led to the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout.

It isn’t always the need for additional regulation, it can also be the need to properly enforce the regulations we already have.