As the economy slows, the Dallas Morning News wants Texas to implement the same environmental regimen that has been killing jobs all around the nation. Their headline says it all, “Lawmakers need an environmental stick.” The DMN needs that stick applied to their head. Such regulation — the sticks — is all too often about shutting down business, not improving public safety, in the name of the environmental religion.
Such sticks lead lawmakers to enact stupid laws. Just last year Seattle was going to ban beach bonfires. Safety? No. Global warming! You just cannot make that stuff up.
Environmental laws never end. Activists and newspaper writers (but then I repeat myself) might find some egregious example to justify grabbing the stick, but the inevitably use it to promote bad public policy.
Texans don’t need heavy-handed regulation, we need a strong, vibrant economy. Increasing general prosperity is the surest way to clean up the environment. More government? Nothing will be cleaner, and we’ll all be a lot poorer!
