Regulations are not the death throe to the economy that its opponents would like to make it out to be. Companies adapt to changes in the playing field. When rules are imposed, companies find ways to cut costs. Also contrary to the notions of regulation s opponents, regulations do work. Over the last 25 years, the amounts of pollutants in the air have gone down in every major category.
Regulations also work to improve the health and safety of workers.
Still, there are occasions when, despite regulations, a tragedy occurs. Unfortunately, this is often due to the fact that the regulations were not being enforced, or that the regulations were not powerful enough to prevent the trag edy. The cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee may have been due to a lack of appropriate regulation. When the FDA s regulati ons regarding generic drugs were reduced, some drug manufacturers submitted false data to get their drugs approved. Averages are only averages, and sometimes the exposure will be much greater, sometimes the exposure will be much less.