Regulations full of holes

by Denny Banister

When the courts rang AT&T’s bell by ruling it a monopoly, the giant communications company was forced to liquidate some of its business. Many consumers were very concerned with the breakup of ‘Ma Bell’ – we were not sure we wanted changes to a phone system that worked.

Before long, however, telephone costs went down. Most of us began flip-flopping long distance carriers to take advantage of lower long distance rates, and now our long distance providers voluntarily announce rate reductions on their own to keep our business.

Some of us complained when we had to start purchasing our telephones – they were always provided as part of the service in the past, and would be repaired or replaced if broken. Now we buy inexpensive, digital phones with more options on them than a fully loaded Cadillac. If they break, we just throw them away and buy a new one.

Now, nearly every business faces deregulation. Soon, we will have the opportunity to buy our electricity from whatever carrier we desire – if we find the local electric company charges shocking, we will import our electricity from another company in another state.

Again, many of us are concerned. We may complain about energy prices, but we do so from well-lighted, comfortably-heated and air-conditioned homes where we take electricity, and the hundreds of electric contraptions we depend upon, for granted.

Now, reminiscent to the fate suffered by AT&T, another industry giant – Microsoft – is fighting court- ordered liquidation of some of their business. Nearly everyone who uses a computer depends upon Microsoft in some way. We are once again apprehensive.

Actually, I tend to favor most deregulation. But there is one area I would like to see very tightly regulated – the regulators themselves who work at every level of government. Their ability to regulate is too frequently abusive, going much further or even in a different direction than intended by lawmakers.

For example, did you know the size of the holes in Grade A Swiss cheese is regulated? This all came to light when Swiss cheese producers requested the USDA allow smaller holes in Grade A Swiss since current larger holes often cause cheese to get torn in high-speed slicing machines.

As a consumer, I don’t worry about the size the holes in my Swiss cheese – as long as it is sold by weight. But as a taxpayer, I do worry about my tax money wasted to create ‘cheese cops’ who make a living ensuring the fissures in my Swiss are up to specs – talk about something full of holes.

Denny Banister of Jefferson City is assistant director of information and public relations for the Missouri Farm Bureau.