Regulations are a necessary evil

By Ed Dornlas, Las Vegas

Friday, March 27, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Paul Krugman again illustrates with his column “Partisan pepperoni” (Las Vegas Sun, March 14) why his articles are a worthwhile read.

Regulators exert tremendous influence over all business, whether it’s taxi cabs, law or pizza. A business can’t ignore regulators and expect to be successful.

Krugman seems to imply that nutritional information for pizza should be a forgone conclusion given how fat Americans have become. Well, here’s a news flash: We already know pizza is fattening. And, as any pizza lover knows, unless the pizza comes from your grocery store freezer, it’s pretty much a one-off product, even if you don’t ask for extra cheese, olives or whatever.

So the pizza merchants must, out of necessity, join forces with their regulators. The result is crony capitalism whereby industry influences government to produce the most advantageous arrangement for both. The easiest opening for that influence is money to support politicians who can return the favor by influencing the regulators.

Krugman’s final sentence states that influence is “making America ever less governable.” I beg to differ; if one can get to a position of influence, America can be governed just fine.