Regulatory rollback is broken—here's why

The Myth That “Regulation Is the Enemy”

When a new administration rolls out a regulatory freeze, the media instantly crowns it a victory for “business freedom.” The narrative is polished, rehearsed, and designed to keep the public convinced that every rule is a shackles‑like burden on growth. The truth? Regulation is a shield, not a chain. It protects workers from toxic fumes, keeps our water from turning into a chemical cocktail, and forces corporations to internalize the social costs they would otherwise dump on the poorest neighborhoods.

Yet the latest wave of rollbacks—initiated under the pretense of cutting red tape—has been nothing short of a coordinated assault on those shields. The Federal Trade Commission and Environmental Protection Agency have seen staff slashed, rulemaking deadlines erased, and entire policy units shuttered. The result isn’t a leaner, more efficient economy; it’s a regulatory vacuum that corporate lobbyists are filling with profit‑first mandates.

Who’s Cashing In on the Rollback Frenzy?

The headline‑grabbing “job‑creating” promises are a smokescreen. The real beneficiaries are the wealth‑extracting corporations that have long lobbied for weaker oversight.

• Pharmaceutical giants shedding safety‑review timelines, speeding unsafe drugs to market.
• Oil and gas majors slashing emissions reporting, betting on deregulated carbon markets that never materialize.
• Big tech firms lobbying for data‑privacy rollbacks, paving the way for invasive surveillance monetized through ad sales.

These entities pour hundreds of millions into lobbying firms each election cycle. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the top ten polluters spent over $1.2 billion on lobbying in 2023 alone. Their influence is evident in the Executive Orders that froze new regulations at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency—actions detailed in the NAM briefing on the regulatory rollback.

What’s missing from the press releases is the human cost of eroding these protections. The rollbacks are not abstract policy shifts; they are direct assaults on community health, environmental justice, and labor rights.

The Human Cost Hidden Behind Deregulation Stats

The “jobs saved” mantra conveniently ignores the invisible casualties that rise when oversight disappears:

• Air quality in low‑income neighborhoods deteriorates by an average of 12 µg/m³ of PM2.5 when emissions rules are weakened, according to EPA data (2022).
• Occupational injury rates in manufacturing climb 18 % within two years of safety‑standard rollbacks, as reported by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2023).
• Waterborne disease outbreaks increase by 23 % in regions where the Clean Water Act enforcement is diluted, per a CDC study (2021).

These aren’t isolated incidents; they are systemic patterns that disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. When federal oversight falters, state governments scramble to pick up the slack. The Thomson Reuters Institute notes that states typically respond with three strategies: direct regulatory action, adjustments to enforcement, and legal or collaborative initiatives. But many states lack the resources to replace the vanished federal guard, leaving vulnerable populations exposed.

What States Are (And Aren’t) Doing

• California has tightened its own emissions standards, but its budget shortfall limits enforcement staff.
• New York launched a “clean water task force,” yet it operates on a 30 % reduced grant from the EPA.
• Midwest states like Indiana and Ohio have largely abandoned proactive measures, opting instead for corporate‑friendly “regulatory moratoriums.”

The patchwork response creates a geography of inequality: where a state can afford to act, communities receive a thin veneer of protection; where it can’t, corporate extraction proceeds unchecked.

Debunking the “Deregulation Saves Jobs” Lie

Claim: “Removing regulations will boost employment and spur economic growth.

Reality: This claim is unsupported by credible data and has been repeatedly debunked by independent economists.

• A 2020 study by the Economic Policy Institute found that every $1 billion in environmental regulation supports 15,000 jobs, spanning construction, monitoring, and compliance.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that green jobs grew 4.5 % faster than the overall labor market from 2015‑2020.
• Falsehood: “Regulatory burdens cost the private sector $1.5 trillion annually.” No reputable source confirms this figure; it originates from a corporate‑funded think tank with a history of inflating cost estimates.

Why the myth persists: It serves the interests of political donors who profit from deregulation. By framing oversight as a “job killer,” they shift public attention away from the real labor exploitation occurring in unregulated factories and gig‑economy platforms.

The Real Numbers

• Manufacturing safety rollbacks have correlated with a 9 % increase in workplace injuries, which translates to $12 billion in lost productivity (OSHA, 2023).
• Environmental deregulation often leads to resource depletion, raising long‑term operational costs for businesses that rely on stable ecosystems.

The evidence suggests that protective regulation is an economic engine, not a drag on growth. By discarding it, we sacrifice stable, decent‑paying jobs for short‑term profit spikes that enrich the few.

What Happens When States Are Forced to Fill the Void

When the federal guard steps aside, states become the battleground for corporate influence. The Thomson Reuters Institute’s analysis highlights three typical state responses—direct regulatory action, enforcement adjustments, and legal collaborations.

• Corporate lobbying at the state level has surged by 38 % since 2020 (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2023).
• Legal challenges against federal rollbacks often stall in state courts where corporate‑friendly judges dominate.
• Collaborative initiatives like “public‑private partnerships” frequently give corporations regulatory sway in exchange for vague promises of “innovation.”

These dynamics re‑centralize power in the hands of corporate executives and their legal teams, while marginalized communities lose the last line of defense. The result is a two‑tiered regulatory system: one that privileges affluent, well‑connected regions, and another that leaves low‑income areas to fend for themselves.

The Fight We Can’t Afford to Lose

We stand at a crossroads. The regulatory rollback is not a neutral policy adjustment; it is a deliberate restructuring of power that benefits corporate elites at the expense of workers, families, and the planet.

• Organize labor unions to demand stronger safety standards and enforce existing regulations.
• Support state‑level climate justice legislation that goes beyond token gestures.
• Press federal agencies to reinstate staffing levels and resume stalled rulemaking—public pressure has forced the EPA to reverse a dozen rollbacks in 2022 alone.
• Hold elected officials accountable through transparent campaign finance reforms that curb corporate lobbying.

The stakes are too high for complacency. Every rollback is a vote against equity, a step toward environmental catastrophe, and a blow to workers’ dignity. The narrative that “regulation kills jobs” is a falsehood engineered by those who profit from chaos. It’s time to expose the lie, protect the shields, and rebuild a regulatory framework that puts people and planet before profit.

Sources

• Navigating the ever‑shifting regulatory tide – Thomson Reuters Institute
• Rollback, Regulatory Freezes, and Investigations Review – Latham Reg
• The Regulatory Rollback Begins – National Association of Manufacturers
• Economic Policy Institute – The Job‑Creating Power of Environmental Regulations (2020)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Air Quality Trends (2022)
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration – Workplace Injuries Statistics (2023)