"Even though the president said he'd put working people first, his administration is acting to elevate corporate and financial industry interests, boosting corporate profits and enriching corporate insiders," said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project. (Photo: teigan/Flickr/cc)
Red Alert: Team Trump Unveils Anti-Planet, Anti-Worker Corporate Wish List
"At the behest of big corporations, the Trump administration is laying the foundation for a new wave of deregulatory disasters."
Amid swirling controversy over the burgeoning investigation into President Donald Trump's alleged Russia ties, groups are raising the alarm after the Trump administration on Thursday quietly unveiled its plan to roll back hundreds of Obama-era regulations aimed at shielding workers and the planet from corporate abuse.
"The only winners from this unified agenda are the corporate interests whose deregulatory wish lists the administration has adopted wholesale."
--Amit Narang
The more than 800 planned and existing regulations the White House is set to scrap "govern everything--from the basics of everyday living, such as a product safety standard for mattresses' flammability when it comes to cigarettes, to what sort of precautions construction firms should be required to take so their workers are not run over by other vehicles on site," the Washington Post summarized.
Worker advocates and environmental groups were quick to characterize the administration's deregulatory agenda as a sop to America's largest companies at the expense of those Trump has repeatedly promised to protect.
"Actions speak louder than words," Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project (NELP), said in a statement.
Trump's deregulatory agenda "shows yet again that even though the president said he'd put working people first, his administration is acting to elevate corporate and financial industry interests, boosting corporate profits and enriching corporate insiders," Owens concluded. "Working people are last, not first, as the president initially promised--an especially cruel irony during the administration's so-called 'Made in America Week.'"
In addition to slashing protections for workers and the environment, the Trump administration's agenda also appears to kill an Obama-era effort to limit the pay of Wall Street executives.
"It wasn't going to happen under President Trump," Alexander Monterrubio, director of regulatory affairs for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions trade group, told Reuters.
Robert Faturechi of ProPublica and Danielle Ivory of the New York Times reported earlier this month that the Trump administration has created "deregulation teams" assembled with the goal of "aggressively" tossing out federal regulations.
"But the effort," Faturechi and Ivory concluded, "is being conducted in large part out of public view and often by political appointees with deep industry ties and potential conflicts."
It appears that the teams' efforts are paying off, argues Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate at Public Citizen.
"Though the president said he'd put working people first, his administration is acting to elevate corporate and financial industry interests."
--Christine Owens, National Employment Law Project
"The only winners from this unified agenda are the corporate interests whose deregulatory wish lists the administration has adopted wholesale," Narang said in a statement on Thursday.
Trump's "corporate wish list" will almost certainly have corrosive effects over the long-term, green groups argued.
"Just 10 safeguards created between 2009 and 2014, for example, will save more than 10,000 lives and prevent 300,000 cases of illness and injury each year," noted the Natural Resources Defense Council.
But the administration's move toward mass deregulation will also open the door to disasters that could strike at any moment, Public Citizen's Narang concluded.
"Deregulation has led to historic disasters such as the BP oil spill in the Gulf, the Wall Street meltdown that led to the Great Recession and, most recently in the U.K., the Grenfell Tower fire," Narang said. "What this unified agenda makes clear is that, at the behest of big corporations, the Trump administration is laying the foundation for a new wave of deregulatory disasters."
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This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Amid swirling controversy over the burgeoning investigation into President Donald Trump's alleged Russia ties, groups are raising the alarm after the Trump administration on Thursday quietly unveiled its plan to roll back hundreds of Obama-era regulations aimed at shielding workers and the planet from corporate abuse.
"The only winners from this unified agenda are the corporate interests whose deregulatory wish lists the administration has adopted wholesale."
--Amit Narang
The more than 800 planned and existing regulations the White House is set to scrap "govern everything--from the basics of everyday living, such as a product safety standard for mattresses' flammability when it comes to cigarettes, to what sort of precautions construction firms should be required to take so their workers are not run over by other vehicles on site," the Washington Post summarized.
Worker advocates and environmental groups were quick to characterize the administration's deregulatory agenda as a sop to America's largest companies at the expense of those Trump has repeatedly promised to protect.
"Actions speak louder than words," Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project (NELP), said in a statement.
Trump's deregulatory agenda "shows yet again that even though the president said he'd put working people first, his administration is acting to elevate corporate and financial industry interests, boosting corporate profits and enriching corporate insiders," Owens concluded. "Working people are last, not first, as the president initially promised--an especially cruel irony during the administration's so-called 'Made in America Week.'"
In addition to slashing protections for workers and the environment, the Trump administration's agenda also appears to kill an Obama-era effort to limit the pay of Wall Street executives.
"It wasn't going to happen under President Trump," Alexander Monterrubio, director of regulatory affairs for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions trade group, told Reuters.
Robert Faturechi of ProPublica and Danielle Ivory of the New York Times reported earlier this month that the Trump administration has created "deregulation teams" assembled with the goal of "aggressively" tossing out federal regulations.
"But the effort," Faturechi and Ivory concluded, "is being conducted in large part out of public view and often by political appointees with deep industry ties and potential conflicts."
It appears that the teams' efforts are paying off, argues Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate at Public Citizen.
"Though the president said he'd put working people first, his administration is acting to elevate corporate and financial industry interests."
--Christine Owens, National Employment Law Project
"The only winners from this unified agenda are the corporate interests whose deregulatory wish lists the administration has adopted wholesale," Narang said in a statement on Thursday.
Trump's "corporate wish list" will almost certainly have corrosive effects over the long-term, green groups argued.
"Just 10 safeguards created between 2009 and 2014, for example, will save more than 10,000 lives and prevent 300,000 cases of illness and injury each year," noted the Natural Resources Defense Council.
But the administration's move toward mass deregulation will also open the door to disasters that could strike at any moment, Public Citizen's Narang concluded.
"Deregulation has led to historic disasters such as the BP oil spill in the Gulf, the Wall Street meltdown that led to the Great Recession and, most recently in the U.K., the Grenfell Tower fire," Narang said. "What this unified agenda makes clear is that, at the behest of big corporations, the Trump administration is laying the foundation for a new wave of deregulatory disasters."
Amid swirling controversy over the burgeoning investigation into President Donald Trump's alleged Russia ties, groups are raising the alarm after the Trump administration on Thursday quietly unveiled its plan to roll back hundreds of Obama-era regulations aimed at shielding workers and the planet from corporate abuse.
"The only winners from this unified agenda are the corporate interests whose deregulatory wish lists the administration has adopted wholesale."
--Amit Narang
The more than 800 planned and existing regulations the White House is set to scrap "govern everything--from the basics of everyday living, such as a product safety standard for mattresses' flammability when it comes to cigarettes, to what sort of precautions construction firms should be required to take so their workers are not run over by other vehicles on site," the Washington Post summarized.
Worker advocates and environmental groups were quick to characterize the administration's deregulatory agenda as a sop to America's largest companies at the expense of those Trump has repeatedly promised to protect.
"Actions speak louder than words," Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project (NELP), said in a statement.
Trump's deregulatory agenda "shows yet again that even though the president said he'd put working people first, his administration is acting to elevate corporate and financial industry interests, boosting corporate profits and enriching corporate insiders," Owens concluded. "Working people are last, not first, as the president initially promised--an especially cruel irony during the administration's so-called 'Made in America Week.'"
In addition to slashing protections for workers and the environment, the Trump administration's agenda also appears to kill an Obama-era effort to limit the pay of Wall Street executives.
"It wasn't going to happen under President Trump," Alexander Monterrubio, director of regulatory affairs for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions trade group, told Reuters.
Robert Faturechi of ProPublica and Danielle Ivory of the New York Times reported earlier this month that the Trump administration has created "deregulation teams" assembled with the goal of "aggressively" tossing out federal regulations.
"But the effort," Faturechi and Ivory concluded, "is being conducted in large part out of public view and often by political appointees with deep industry ties and potential conflicts."
It appears that the teams' efforts are paying off, argues Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate at Public Citizen.
"Though the president said he'd put working people first, his administration is acting to elevate corporate and financial industry interests."
--Christine Owens, National Employment Law Project
"The only winners from this unified agenda are the corporate interests whose deregulatory wish lists the administration has adopted wholesale," Narang said in a statement on Thursday.
Trump's "corporate wish list" will almost certainly have corrosive effects over the long-term, green groups argued.
"Just 10 safeguards created between 2009 and 2014, for example, will save more than 10,000 lives and prevent 300,000 cases of illness and injury each year," noted the Natural Resources Defense Council.
But the administration's move toward mass deregulation will also open the door to disasters that could strike at any moment, Public Citizen's Narang concluded.
"Deregulation has led to historic disasters such as the BP oil spill in the Gulf, the Wall Street meltdown that led to the Great Recession and, most recently in the U.K., the Grenfell Tower fire," Narang said. "What this unified agenda makes clear is that, at the behest of big corporations, the Trump administration is laying the foundation for a new wave of deregulatory disasters."