Cass Sunstein: The Obama Administration's Ambivalent Regulator

[Derechos]

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The 56-year-old is an old friend of Obama from the days when they both taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago, a pre-eminent egghead, the country's most cited law professor and an expert in behavioral economics.

But he's hardly an activist regulator, something the Wall Street Journal editorial board immediately recognized when it called his selection "a promising sign" -- while the OpenLeft blog labeled Sunstein a "concern troll."

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OIRA's most recent annual report to Congress lists 66 major rules issued in fiscal year 2010, and assesses the net benefit of rules finalized during Obama's first two fiscal years in office at about $35 billion -- compared to $2.3 billion for George W. Bush's first two years, and $10.6 billion for Bill Clinton's.

But environmentalists, consumer advocates, labor unions and others who support assertive government regulation say many other significant proposed rules -- including regulations regarding coal ash, boiler emissions, toxic chemicals and worker safety -- have either been delayed by OIRA, micromanaged beyond recognition or scrapped entirely.

And as the White House increasingly focuses on raising vast amounts of money for the 2012 reelection campaign, critics are seeing a disturbing new trend: After two years of relative inaction, Sunstein (and his boss) now appear to be actively using the regulatory process to ingratiate themselves with deep-pocketed corporate interests.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/13/cass-sunstein-obama-ambivalent-regulator-czar_n_874530.html

[Enrique]

1. wow that is a great article

Froomkin is always awesome and he outdid himself here.

thanks for posting!