Attack of the Job Killers!

(updated below)

The ongoing outbreak of Listeria got me thinking about food safety, regulation, and the government's place in society. All large topics indeed. But the truth is that I had a personal insight when I was listening to a radio newscast on the outbreak. It hit me that I wouldn't be here without microscopic bugs and regulation.

My father logged in 20 years working for Planters Peanuts as a plant inspector. He was the guy who made sure your can of Christmas cashews didn't have something living next to those delicious nuts which might have killed you. Indeed his famous line was that he "worked with a bunch of nuts." (Referring primarily to his colleagues.) He was on the front lines of an ongoing and important battle with our invisible frenemy, germs.

These tiny ubiquitous pests provided my old man with plenty of work over the years. They require a constant vigilance of cleaning and precaution. Infinitely interesting and yet causing so many problems for humans trying to consume food. (Even though they put in the hard work for some foods. *drools like Homer* Beer!)

When I was listening to the story about the recent outbreak, I couldn't help but think of my dad and the larger picture. Consider this. When The Jungle illuminated the horrific slaughterhouse conditions, the public outcry lead to the creation of our current generation of food safety and regulation. The USDA and FDA exert powers given to them to ensure a public good. These regulations make sense to anyone on a basic level: the USDA inspects and regulates because you can't physically do it yourself.

It's a common good that we all pay for, and yet the characterizations of such regulations are taking a turn for the worse.

"The current regulatory burden coming out of Washington far exceeds the federal government's constitutional mandate. And it's hurting job creation in our country at a time when we can't afford it." - John Boehner

As you can tell from speeches like that. In today's economic realities, government regulation is usually demonized. (Not just by Republicans.) Regulations no longer are in the best interest of the environment, or public safety. They are job killing or curtailing job creation. But my entire existence was made possible by regulation and for regulation.

Without federal regulations maintaining food safety standards and cleanliness, my dad wouldn't have been necessary at the plant. No inspections needed sir. Contrary to libertarian, invisible-hand utopias, we did live in an age of deregulation. Back the in 19th century. Back when sanitation and health conditions were no where near where they are now.

I could continue to rail against republicans and democrats for their nonsensical and irrational short-term thinking when it comes to environmental and food regulations, but it won't change anything. I can no doubt plan their rhetoric as to why my argument is invalid. "No one would argue against most food safety laws." But they did when they were first introduced. (And some still are in a way.)

It is ironic that when I hear someone say that regulation is job killing, or slowing job creation, I think to my old man's job. His job wasn't killed by regulation. It was regulation.

Updated:

For the curious minded. Here was my old man.

Yes that is me on the right!

Notes:

(In rebuttal to Boehner's quote.) The line, "promote the general welfare" is in the preamble to the constitution. I'm not a constitutional scholar, but public safety is what they were referring to.

Since I'm not prescient to the whole of the business community, my family's anecdotal case could be unrepresentative of the whole.

Bacteria aren't bugs.