A Vast Deregulatory Landscape

“Don’t just stand there, undo something” was a favorite saying of Murray Weidenbaum, Ronald Reagan’s first CEA Chairman, and a common sentiment in the Trump White House. Mr. Weidenbaum was referring to government regulations, which amount to restrictions on trades between Americans.

Regulations may restrict trades between employer and employee (labor regulation), between borrower and lender (bank regulation), between internet provider and household (telecommunications regulation), etc. The opposite, deregulation, allows for freer intranational trade. Free intranational trade may be more valuable than free international trade given that more than 80 percent of private-sector purchases are within the United States.


The regulatory differences between Presidents Reagan and Trump are vast and surprising. Read more in my new book You're Hired! Untold Successes and Failures of a Populist President. A first rough draft of Reagan vs. Trump on regulation is on my blog.