Previous Section: The Fight For Control
Next Section: The Bureaucrats: A History
Regulation is the use of government control to manage some part of the economy or society.
Table 4.2: The Growth of Regulation
Year
|
Regulation
|
1776-1860
|
In this time period the government did virtually no regulation. I wonder what that would have been like...
|
1863
|
Office of the Comptoller of the Currency. This is the oldest regulatory agency that still exists. It charters and regulates national banks. |
1877
|
The Supreme Court ruled that the government had the right to regulate private business and private property (Munn v. Illinois) |
1887
|
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) protected people from extreme and unfair railroad rates. It was a form of ecomic regulation and was basis for the independent bipartisan commission structure for future agencies.
|
1930
|
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was created to ensure the safety of the food people are consuming and notify people of potentially unsafe products.
|
1908
|
The government was given the right to regulate the "workplace" by the Supreme Court (Muller v. Oregon). |
1916
|
National Park Service sought to protect the nations natural landscapes by regulating their use.
|
1917
|
Fuel Administration manages the distribution of coal, the price of coal, and hunted down companies that were wasting coal.
|
1918
|
War Industries Board set prices, cordinated buying and selling of products, and taxed corporations with "excess profit".
|
1918
|
National War Labor Board nationalized the railroads, established 8 hour work days, gave works equal pay and time and a half overtime pay.
|
1933
|
The National Industrial Recovery Act set up the National Recovery Administration which was a group of men that sought to regulate the prices and productions quotas for businesses.
|
1935
|
National Labor Relations Board forced companies to give their workers a minimum wage and no more than a 40 hour work week. |
1938
|
Employment Standards Administration
|
| 1941 |
Fair Employment Practices Commission meant that there was to be no discrimination in the workplace based on gender in terms of wages. The commission had the job of insuring this regulation was complied with. |
1964
|
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
|
|
The Department of Transportation(DOT) was created as a conglomeration of the Federal Highway Administration (1966) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (1970).
|
1970
|
EPA created to get all of the other environmental programs in one place and to expand them under the National Environmental Policy Act
|
1970
|
Occupational Safety and Health Admin enhance work place safety.
|
1974
|
Pension Benefit guaranty Corporation and the Pension Welfare Admin, regulate pensions plan insurance systems
|
1977
|
The Department of Engery (DOE) was chartered to deal with dwindleing resources and was a grouping of other energy programs at the time.
|
Note: These are just some examples of the regulation legislation that went on during these time periods not all of them. If you would like a comprehensive list of all the regulation that the bureaucracy does check out the Code of Federal Regulations(CRF). It is amazing to see the sheer volume that the government does all in one place!
Today the amount Bureaucratic regulation is pretty huge, right? You can't seem to get through the day without running into some kind of governmental regulation. It didn't used to be like that, but the bureaucracy and its responsibilities grew over time. Throughout the history of the United States there have been growth spurts for bureaucratic regulation. Before then, there was virtually little to no regulation. If there was any, it was done at the state and local levels.The first of which was small and gradual, 1863-1886. This group of "reforms" did not have a connecting theme per say but it marks a defining pivot point in American history. Then in the Progressive Era, 1890-1917, regulation picked up. Without the changes and the the precedents set by these time periods, the bureaucracy might be completely different or even powerless today. Although there were some difference, both World War I and the Great Depression brought regulation that focused on economics, 1917-1920 and 1930-1941. The 1960s and 70s were a time of social regulation. It sought to protect consumer and workers, ensure adequate resources, and protect the environment.
A different way to note the change in regulation is to watch the growth of a department and its responsibilities over time. Take the Department of Agriculture for example. The department was originally meant to help farmers farm with more "modern" techniques (it was created during Lincoln's administration, so you can imagine the "modernity" of it!). When it was first created the department wasn't even a part of the cabinet. However, today it regulates the price, production, import, and export of agricultural crops; the safety of meat, poultry, and other food products; the programs that aid farmers; all of the nation's national forests, and many other farm-related activities. What started off as a simple department now includes a complex network of agencies under it including the U.S. Forest Service (1905), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (1935), the Farm Service Agency (1961), the Food and Consumer Service (1969), the Agricultural Marketing Service (1972), the Federal Grain Inspection Service (1976), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (1977), the Foreign Agricultural Service (1974), the Food Safety and Inspection Service (1981), and the Rural Development Administration (1990).
Bureaucracy in Our Lives
The American bureaucracy has found a way into almost EVERY aspect of our lives and the lives of others across the nation. One of these people is my buddy Chad. One day Chad decided that he would count all of the different ways that the bureaucracy touched his life in just one day. His experiment started when he woke up to the sound of his radio blaring the latest hip-hop song, Air Force Ones by Nelly. He put down his first tally in his notebook because the station that was playing the music is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) -- an Independent Regulatory Agency. After he got dressed, he went downstairs to eat a hearty breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Every part of that meal was inspected by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure the consumers' safety--one tally for pancakes, one for bacon. It is also the FDA that warned Chad that the massive amounts of caffeine in his Starbuck's carmal frappuccino he consumes on a daily basis has been shown to cause birth defects, and causes his heartrate to increase when excersizing. The tally in his handy-dandy notebook is now up to four.
Then Chad hopped in his car and drove to work. The car alone represents many facets of the bureaucracy. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Department of Transportation (DOT) all have a part in requiring pollution-control, energy efficiency, the safety devices within the vehicle and so much more. The highways that Chad drives on in order to get to work were built and are maintained by the DOT. It is almost impossible to count the numerous ways his car is regulated by the government so Chad rounded the number up to ten. Chad works at a local restuarant. There is a lot of government regulation there. The FDA regulates the quality of the food. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that ensures that Chad is working in a safe environment. The alcohol served at the bar is carefully watched over by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. And the National Labor Relations Board helps the unions that have a chapter in the restaurant. As Chad gets his check for the week, he looks down at it and thanks that Department of Labor for protecting his right to the Congress-issued federal minimum wage wihtout which is he wouldn't be able to take his super hot girlfriend out on any dates.
From work Chad goes straight to the bank to deposit his check. The bank, which is one of the most regulated institutions in America, is another place that is virtually impossible to count the number of ways the bureaucracy regulates it, but his account is ensured by Federal Deposit Insurance Commission. The next stop on the Chad train is the Toy Store. He is going over to his sister's house for dinner because it is his niece's birthday so he needs to get her a present. Each of the toys in the store is regulated for safety by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It gives the age limits of each of the toys and makes sure that there is no harmful substances, such as lead paint, used on the toys. With dread in his heart, he stepped into the Barbie section of the Toy Store, picked out the Barbie play house, checkout, and left as fast as possible. After a wonderful party, Chad was exhausted; it is a little anti-social if you know what I mean. Before he turned off the light next to his bed, which is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Chad pulled out his notebook to see how the experiement went. He was not surprised at all to see such a large number of tallies: over 20. But Chad knew that this was not an accurate number because even he, the super genius that he is, doesn't know all of the different regulations the government imposes on his life so it is impossible for him to count them all.
Previous Section: The Fight For Control
Next Section: The Bureaucrats: A History
Comments (1)
mberry said
at 12:28 pm on Nov 12, 2009
Good content...but writing is rough! Guess that's why it's a rough draft, eh?
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