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22 Dec 2011 11:28

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Biz: Christmas miracle: Why Virginia farms plant lots of evergreens these days

  • cause Tobacco has long been a key crop for farmers in Virginia, and until the early 2000s, it was a heavily-regulated industry, with quotas and price supports for farmers. However, in 2004, the industry was largely deregulated.
  • reaction After the deregulation happened, farmers got money from the federal government allowing them to focus on new kinds of crops. One of the big ones? Christmas trees, which are hard to smoke but pretty easy to decorate. source

29 Aug 2011 17:42

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Politics: House Republicans plot major deregulatory push

  • Deregulation = jobs: A memo obtained by ShortFormBlog contains details of an upcoming Republican effort to push massive deregulatory legislation through the House of Representatives, in hopes of unshackling “costly bureaucratic handcuffs” faced by businesses. The letter, sent today by Eric Cantor to the House Republican caucus, details the “Top 10 Job-Destroying Regulations,” and how Republicans plan to address them. “By pursuing a steady repeal of job-destroying regulations,” Cantor wrote, “we can help lift the cloud of uncertainty hanging over small and large employers alike, empowering them to hire more workers.” Some key proposals:
  • Weakened emission limits  The TRAIN (Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation) Act, along with the EPA Regulatory Relief Act, would delay implementation of EPA standards intended to limit air pollution.
  • Limiting union power The Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act would limit the National Labor Relations Board’s power, rescinding its ability to influence relocation of manufacturing plants.
  • Farm dust for all The Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act would, as expected, restrict the federal government’s ability to regulate farm dust, allowing it to do so only within state and local regulations. source
  • » In keeping with Republican orthodoxy, Cantor also proposes to two tax cuts (one for government contractors, another for small businesses), and the repeal of unspecified provisions of the Affordable Care Act. What do you all think of Cantor’s plan? Read the whole thing at the link. (AP Photo)

10 May 2011 10:27

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Biz: Arizona ensures the Happy Meal stays unregulated, unhealthy

  • It’s not that we’re trying to make kids fat — clearly we’re not; it’s about how much government intrusion is really necessary.
  • Arizona Restaurant Association president Steve Chucri • Using the small-government argument to fight for one of his group’s major interests: Keeping Happy Meals unregulated. The group helped push forth an Arizona law that bars local governments from doing what San Francisco did — that is, forcing fast-food places to sell healthier food with their toy-laden meals. Yale’s Kelly Brownell, who leads the university’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, offers a pretty good explanation why the food industry is fighting so hard against the policy: “The companies are fearful these laws will impede their opportunity to recruit new customers,” he notes. source

26 Apr 2010 21:16

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Biz, U.S.: Our latest AOL News article tackles the SEC’s strange porn habit

  • Did some SEC employees have too much time on their hands? Last week, a lot of the buzz on the ‘net was around revelations that SEC staffers were caught looking at porn. But it’s not as bad as it looks. According to a study we found, 28 percent of people at your average cubicle farm (like this one) look at porn at work (we know, right?!). An internal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission nailed around one percent of their employees. And we think we know why they were so bored. Read our latest AOL News article for some insight. source