The competition for the most annoying aspect of establishment press business reporting is fierce. One which immediately identifies a reporter as hopelessly biased and ignorant is any reference to "laissez faire" as a condition allegedly present in any modern economy anywhere on earth.
"Laissez faire" is an economic concept involving "an economic system in which transactions between private parties are free from government interference such as regulations, privileges, tariffs, and subsidies." There are no true "laissez faire" economies of any meaningful size, because they are all regulated to some extent. As we will see shortly, some in the press even employ the obviously absurd term "laissez faire regulation."
Anyone coining the term "laissez faire regulation" is clearly not on a mission to inform. "Laissez faire regulation" cannot possibly exist unless one can prove that the absolutely every regulatory agency employee involved sits at his or her desk all day, every day, and does absolutely nothing related to their government- and taxpayer-assigned tasks.
This didn't stop Associated Press writer Dan Elliott, a 40-year journalism veteran who clearly should (and I believe clearly does) know better, from treating "laissez faire regulation" of the environment in Texas as if it's an undisputed fact. He did so in a story covering a hearing with proposed ideas for regulating methane emissions:
... At the Dallas hearing, Deborah Armintor, a professor at University of North Texas in Denton, described Denton's air quality as "F-rated" because of 300 nearby gas wells.
"Help us, EPA," she said. "You are Texas' only hope for protecting its people and environment from oil and gas industry pollution. State legislators are not doing it for us."
Texas is the nation's leading producer of crude oil and natural gas, and several supporters of the EPA's proposal bemoaned the state's laissez-faire regulation.
"State regulators play a game of pretending to regulate," said Lance Irwin of Mansfield, Texas.
Note that Elliott didn't write that the EPA's supporters "bemoaned what they called the state's laissez-faire regulation." As written, Elliott told readers that laissez faire environmental regulation in Texas is an objective, irrefutable fact.
No, it's not — and anybody bothering to peruse the web site of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality would know that.
You see, TCEQ is charged with enforcing the state's environmental laws regulations. One would think from the comment of Mr. Lance Irwin above that the agency never, ever carries out its mission.
That's pretty funny, because in just the past five weeks, TCEQ has done the following:
- September 23 — "TCEQ approves fines totaling $489,218" against 69 regulated entities.
- September 9 - "TCEQ approves fines totaling $306,763" against 34 regulated entities.
- August 19 — "TCEQ Approves Fines Totaling $781,532," which "Includes penalty of $106,111 against BASF Corporation."
Over $1.5 milllion in penalties isn't exactly "pretending," Mr. Irwin.
There may be room for debate as to whether TCEQ is doing enough to enforce environmental laws and regulations. But it's an insult to readers' intelligence for a reporter to claim that a state agency which has fined and penalized well over 100 entities in the past five weeks is engaging in "laissez faire regulation."
"Laissez faire regulation" is a pejorative, nonsensical term which doesn't belong in a news report unless it's contained in quoted statements from activists who educated readers will clearly see have no idea what they're talking about.
If the AP cared at all about the accuracy of its output, it never would have allowed Dan Elliott's use of "laissez faire regulation" to appear, or especially to remain online.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
